Ten-and-a-half years ago I came to Mamshit Camel Ranch, a Bedouin Village, close to Demona in the Negev desert in Israel. I was a participant on USY Israel Pilgrimage (Group 3) and celebrated my 18th birthday in the Bedouin tent. To my young eyes it appeared to be a fairly realistic Bedouin experience complete with Bedouin food, sleeping in a tent, and camel rides. I wasn't naive -- of course I knew that the Bedouins who worked at Mamshit lived in the nice homes nearby and didn't live as the Bedouins of ages past.
Now, as a staff member on a birthright israel trip with University of Michigan and Harvard students, I am sitting in the main office of Mamshit (Israeli owned) checking my e-mail and posting to my Blog on a high-speed DSL connection.
I'd write more but there's a camel-riding Bedouin waiting to check his stock portfolio online!
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Off to Israel on birthright (or am I?)
I am posting from the beautiful King David Lounge at the JFK International Terminal. It is 5:00 PM (EST) and about 3.5 hours after twenty-two of my U-M Hillel students departed on our flight to Israel. Due to some computer problems from Delta Airlines and some computer problems from Northwest Airlines, I sitting at JFK in New York trying to get on a standby flight to the new Ben Gurion Terminal in Israel.
So, hopefully this will be my last post for about 10 days while I am in Israel. I will give an evaluation of the trip when I return.
While I wait to find out whether or not I will get on this flight, some brief thoughts about yesterday's Christmas holiday:
So, hopefully this will be my last post for about 10 days while I am in Israel. I will give an evaluation of the trip when I return.
While I wait to find out whether or not I will get on this flight, some brief thoughts about yesterday's Christmas holiday:
- Yesterday (Saturday) there was no mail delivered to my house because it was a national holiday celebrating the birth of the man Christians believe to be the son of God. I am fine with the fact that our Christian nation (70% I'm told) has chosen to select one religion's religious holiday to make a national holiday, HOWEVER, I never again want to hear that there exists a separation of Church and State in our country. There does not exist a separation of Church and State, nor has there ever.
- My preference would be to not have everyone (e.g., my bank employees, hotel clerks, operators, customer service reps, and waitresses) wish me "Merry Christmas." I don't celebrate that holiday. I also don't really want them to wish me "Happy Holidays" because they don't wish me this greeting in the Fall during Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. Nor do they wish me that greeting during the Spring for Passover. So why do it now? I also see no reason to wish me a "Season's Greetings" unless that will be standard practice during each of the four seasons we mark in this part of the world.
- Finally (I think), if corporations, schools, offices, airports, banks, and the government would make the decision not to display expensive Christmas (or festive winter) decorations imagine how much money would be saved (from the electicity alone). I have no idea how much money the White House, Congress, and local government and cities spend on lights and decorations, but I'm sure it would be money well saved and then used for education.
- Finally (for sure now), I really don't see the need to put up the menorah (always smaller than the Christmas tree) just to placate the Jews. Yes, I understand that the mitzvah (commandment) for Hanukkah is to publicize the miracle of Hanukkah (pirsumei nisa in Aramaic), but for some reason I don't think that President George W. Bush had that mitzvah in mind when he orders the official White House menorah.
Okay, that's all the post-Christmas ranting for me. Please don't be offended, I'm just trying to get rid of my traveling angst (30,000 people have experienced the nightmare that is air travel so far this weekend -- a number I wish I were not a part of). Thanks Delta and Northwest (oh, and Merry Christmas to you both!)
B'yom Habah Birushalayim -- Next Day in Jersualem (or at Least Tel Aviv)...
Friday, December 24, 2004
Medical skill or miracle?
Study finds doctors take supernatural into account
By Chanan Tigay
NEW YORK, Dec. 23 (JTA) — In the 1980s, when Rabbi Leonard Sharzer was still working as a plastic surgeon, he treated a patient suffering from a debilitating neurological disease. Sharzer and his colleagues agreed that the man wasn’t long for this world.
"It was clear to everybody taking care of him that there was nothing more that could be done," said Sharzer, who was ordained as a Conservative rabbi in 2003. "His family expected this. We didn’t know how long he would survive. He was on a downhill course and the outcome was clear."
But then something strange happened.
“He just lingered and lingered and lingered for six or eight weeks — and he got better,” Sharzer recalled. “There was no way to explain that medically.”
“Looking back on it today,” Sharzer added, “I think I probably would have called it miraculous.”
As it turns out, Sharzer is not alone: According to a new survey, the majority of American physicians believe in miracles.
The study, carried out by HCD Research and the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies of The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, found that 74 percent of U.S. doctors believe miracles have happened in the past, and 73 percent believe they can occur today.
Among Jewish doctors, 88 percent of Orthodox respondents said they believed miracles have transpired, as did 53 percent of Conservative respondents, 46 percent of Reform respondents and 29 percent of those identifying as culturally Jewish.
The numbers were approximately the same when the doctors were asked if miracles can occur today.
Like Sharzer, 55 percent of physicians surveyed said they had seen treatment results in their patients that they would consider miraculous.
The study also found that 55 percent of the doctors surveyed believe medical practice should be guided by religious teaching, and nearly 40 percent are convinced that the biblical miracle stories — such as Exodus’ parting of the Red Sea — are to be taken literally.
Among Jews, 53 percent of Orthodox doctors believe literally in the biblical miracles, as do nearly 12 percent of Conservative respondents, more than 4 percent of Reform and 2 percent of culturally Jewish respondents.
According to Alan Mittleman, the Finkelstein Institute’s director, the study indicates that the conventional sociological wisdom holding that religious belief declines as a person’s scientific education grows is false.
"The big picture was that doctors are really not less religious than their patients," he said. "I was somewhat surprised by the overall religiosity of the physicians."
The survey of 1,087 physicians — Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and 253 Jews — also found that 20 percent of Jewish doctors believe supernatural events or acts of God frequently influence treatment outcomes. Among Catholics that number rose to 35 percent, and jumped again to 46 percent among Protestants.
Among the Jews surveyed between Dec. 17-19, 94 identified themselves as Conservative, 93 as Reform, 49 as culturally Jewish and 17 as Orthodox. The survey had a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.
Orthodox Jewish doctors, the study found, were closer to their Christian counterparts with regard to supernatural views than they were to Conservative and Reform doctors.
"Reform and Conservative Jewish physicians seem to be more focused on the medical aspects and their potential for outcome," said Glenn Kessler, co-founder and managing partner of HCD Research, a private market research company in Flemington, N.J., that deals largely with pharmaceutical companies.
"Orthodox Jews, Catholics and Protestants appear to be more open to non-medical reasons for outcomes — supernatural, unexplained reasons."
Sharzer, who as a surgeon performed reconstructive operations on people who had been injured in accidents, recalled a patient who arrived at the hospital in critical condition.
"He had a whole group of friends and colleagues come into the hospital, and they began chanting around the clock for three or four days, maybe a week, while he was in extremely critical condition," Sharzer said.
"When he started to wake up he was aware that they were doing it. From an anecdotal standpoint — patients who are in very dire straits, their own faith and faith in their family certainly can have a beneficial effect."
He added, "The longer you are in practice the longer you can see things that you can’t explain on the basis of your own actions and your own abilities."
By Chanan Tigay
NEW YORK, Dec. 23 (JTA) — In the 1980s, when Rabbi Leonard Sharzer was still working as a plastic surgeon, he treated a patient suffering from a debilitating neurological disease. Sharzer and his colleagues agreed that the man wasn’t long for this world.
"It was clear to everybody taking care of him that there was nothing more that could be done," said Sharzer, who was ordained as a Conservative rabbi in 2003. "His family expected this. We didn’t know how long he would survive. He was on a downhill course and the outcome was clear."
But then something strange happened.
“He just lingered and lingered and lingered for six or eight weeks — and he got better,” Sharzer recalled. “There was no way to explain that medically.”
“Looking back on it today,” Sharzer added, “I think I probably would have called it miraculous.”
As it turns out, Sharzer is not alone: According to a new survey, the majority of American physicians believe in miracles.
The study, carried out by HCD Research and the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies of The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, found that 74 percent of U.S. doctors believe miracles have happened in the past, and 73 percent believe they can occur today.
Among Jewish doctors, 88 percent of Orthodox respondents said they believed miracles have transpired, as did 53 percent of Conservative respondents, 46 percent of Reform respondents and 29 percent of those identifying as culturally Jewish.
The numbers were approximately the same when the doctors were asked if miracles can occur today.
Like Sharzer, 55 percent of physicians surveyed said they had seen treatment results in their patients that they would consider miraculous.
The study also found that 55 percent of the doctors surveyed believe medical practice should be guided by religious teaching, and nearly 40 percent are convinced that the biblical miracle stories — such as Exodus’ parting of the Red Sea — are to be taken literally.
Among Jews, 53 percent of Orthodox doctors believe literally in the biblical miracles, as do nearly 12 percent of Conservative respondents, more than 4 percent of Reform and 2 percent of culturally Jewish respondents.
According to Alan Mittleman, the Finkelstein Institute’s director, the study indicates that the conventional sociological wisdom holding that religious belief declines as a person’s scientific education grows is false.
"The big picture was that doctors are really not less religious than their patients," he said. "I was somewhat surprised by the overall religiosity of the physicians."
The survey of 1,087 physicians — Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and 253 Jews — also found that 20 percent of Jewish doctors believe supernatural events or acts of God frequently influence treatment outcomes. Among Catholics that number rose to 35 percent, and jumped again to 46 percent among Protestants.
Among the Jews surveyed between Dec. 17-19, 94 identified themselves as Conservative, 93 as Reform, 49 as culturally Jewish and 17 as Orthodox. The survey had a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.
Orthodox Jewish doctors, the study found, were closer to their Christian counterparts with regard to supernatural views than they were to Conservative and Reform doctors.
"Reform and Conservative Jewish physicians seem to be more focused on the medical aspects and their potential for outcome," said Glenn Kessler, co-founder and managing partner of HCD Research, a private market research company in Flemington, N.J., that deals largely with pharmaceutical companies.
"Orthodox Jews, Catholics and Protestants appear to be more open to non-medical reasons for outcomes — supernatural, unexplained reasons."
Sharzer, who as a surgeon performed reconstructive operations on people who had been injured in accidents, recalled a patient who arrived at the hospital in critical condition.
"He had a whole group of friends and colleagues come into the hospital, and they began chanting around the clock for three or four days, maybe a week, while he was in extremely critical condition," Sharzer said.
"When he started to wake up he was aware that they were doing it. From an anecdotal standpoint — patients who are in very dire straits, their own faith and faith in their family certainly can have a beneficial effect."
He added, "The longer you are in practice the longer you can see things that you can’t explain on the basis of your own actions and your own abilities."
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Torah on Board
From Being Jewish
by Rabbi Jason Miller
It wasn’t the first time I traveled in a car with a Torah, but I’d never actually put one in my own car and driven with it. Awe-inspiring? Powerful? Confusing?
It’s an odd experience if you’ve never done it. Maybe it’s akin to giving a ride to a great Torah scholar, but at least the Torah scholar can request a seat preference.Nowhere in the law codes does it expressly state whether a sefer Torah gets "shotgun" or not.
On Shabbat morning, we parade the Torah around, but there was no ritual here. I was offended when a woman sitting in her car in the parking lot didn’t get out and stand at attention as I brought the Torah to my car. Then I wondered whether my car was clean enough for my guest? Is a shmutzy exterior sacrilegious when the holy Torah’s inside?
It was a simple enough task: Bring a sefer Torah to display at a Catholic college while presenting a Basic Judaism talk. I was nervous the entire time. I pondered what type of music I should play, if any. Howard Stern was an obvious no-no. Starting a conversation would only feel awkward. I opted for silence. The tailgating cars were the worst. Didn’t they know about my sacred passenger? Upon returning to the shul, mission accomplished, I returned the Torah to the ark with a sigh of relief. I was honored to share my car with such a revered passenger. It was undoubtedly the quietest passenger with the most to say.
by Rabbi Jason Miller
It wasn’t the first time I traveled in a car with a Torah, but I’d never actually put one in my own car and driven with it. Awe-inspiring? Powerful? Confusing?
It’s an odd experience if you’ve never done it. Maybe it’s akin to giving a ride to a great Torah scholar, but at least the Torah scholar can request a seat preference.Nowhere in the law codes does it expressly state whether a sefer Torah gets "shotgun" or not.
On Shabbat morning, we parade the Torah around, but there was no ritual here. I was offended when a woman sitting in her car in the parking lot didn’t get out and stand at attention as I brought the Torah to my car. Then I wondered whether my car was clean enough for my guest? Is a shmutzy exterior sacrilegious when the holy Torah’s inside?
It was a simple enough task: Bring a sefer Torah to display at a Catholic college while presenting a Basic Judaism talk. I was nervous the entire time. I pondered what type of music I should play, if any. Howard Stern was an obvious no-no. Starting a conversation would only feel awkward. I opted for silence. The tailgating cars were the worst. Didn’t they know about my sacred passenger? Upon returning to the shul, mission accomplished, I returned the Torah to the ark with a sigh of relief. I was honored to share my car with such a revered passenger. It was undoubtedly the quietest passenger with the most to say.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Snap Judgment: A Conservative radical proposal
THE JERUSALEM POST
Calev Ben-David
Dec. 22, 2004
A few years ago I interviewed Levi Weiman-Kelman, the rabbi of Jerusalem's Kol Haneshema synagogue, the Reform Jerusalem shul of which I am a member.
As I knew that Levi was the son of Rabbi Wolfe Kelman, a long-time leader of American Conservative Jewry, and was himself a graduate of the movement's Jewish Theological Seminary, I was curious as to why he had ended up founding a Reform congregation here.
In fact, he said, he had indeed first gone to the Conservative Movement, which told him they didn't have the money to pay him a salary. He then turned to the former head of the Israeli Reform movement, Rabbi Richard Hirsch. "He took out a checkbook right there and asked me what I needed," Weiman-Kelman recalled.
That was two decades ago, when there were only a handful of non-Orthodox synagogues in the entire country. Today, there are over 50 Masorti (as Conservative Judaism is called here) Israeli congregations, and a comparable number of schools affiliated with the movement via the Tali educational system (which also runs religious studies programs in state "secular" schools). The Conservative Movement has also recently invested heavily in expanding the campus of its Jerusalem headquarters, and continues to run the Solomon Schechter Institute.
Yet with all that, the president of the Israeli Masorti Movement, Rabbi Ehud Bandel, felt compelled to make a plea in the pages of The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday begging for greater support from its parent organization in the US.
"A medium-sized Conservative shul in the US has a larger budget [$2.4 million] than we do," complained Bandel, who says his group has on occasion had to default salary payments. Fundraising trips to the US fall on deaf ears, although Bandel insists "I try to explain to them that the future of Conservative Jewry relies on their support."
I don't claim to have enough inside knowledge to judge the validity of Bandel's pleas. And there is something to the response provided by US Conservative rabbinical leader Joel Meyers, that as an "extremely external-focused movement," his peers contribute much more generously to other Israeli causes - including more pressing humanitarian needs - than they do to the goal of simply increasing their own flock here.
Still, as a born-and-raised Conservative Jew who today considers himself a "Masorti" Israeli (in spirit, at least), and shleps his kids halfway across Jerusalem many mornings so they can attend one of the city's precious few Tali schools, I admittedly can't be objective in this matter.
Whether Bandel is justified in his specific claims, he is surely correct in his general complaint. The US Conservative movement, to these eyes, is failing to provide the level of support deserved by its Israeli brethren. But even more important, it is missing a golden opportunity to reach out to unaffiliated Jews here on a scale now unimaginable in America.
HERE'S A curious twist: I would never have imagined the day when I would proudly declare myself a Conservative Jew.
Growing up in the US in a family that belonged to Temple Hillel of Long Island, the Conservative approach - driving to shul but parking around the corner from the synagogue (yup, my parents actually did that) - seemed to me emblematic of American Jewish wishy-washiness, nish ahin, nish aher, lacking both the authentic traditionalism of Orthodoxy and the bold revisionism of Reform.
Apparently, many of my American-born brethren agreed with me, as membership in Conservative congregations has been steadily declining from its high point in the 1960s (though that's in line with the concurrent drop in the total number of American Jews).
Once I reached Israel, though, the Conservative philosophy - respectful of Halacha (Jewish law) but recognizing the need for it to both change through evolutionary means and tolerate the compromises individuals feel they must make in the course of daily modern existence - simply seemed the most common-sense approach to religious life in a reborn Jewish state.
After all, most Israelis already define themselves as "little m" masorti - Jews who observe in some degree Shabbat and the holy days according to traditions they don't want radically altered - even if they have little awareness of the "big M" Masorti movement. These Israelis are ripe for the framework Conservative Judaism provides, as I've seen myself through my child's attendance at a Tali school, but, as Bandel admitted, "We don't have the funds to reach out to these people."
This is not to deny the formidable obstacles the movement faces in breaking through the prejudices of both devoutly Orthodox and fervently secular Israelis, including determined resistance in the public sphere. Just this summer the Tali system required a Supreme Court ruling in order to get its fair share of the funding provided by the Education Ministry for school prayer sessions.
Yet I'm convinced - as is, obviously, Bandel - that the real future of Conservative Judaism is here, where it can serve as a bridge for Jews into their tradition, and not in its birthplace, where it too often serves as an escape route out of it.
That may not be an easy message to sell to the Conservative Movement's leadership in America, which clearly has a vested interest in believing the opposite. But that doesn't make it any less true.
Maybe the trick is simply to persuade "externally-focused" Conservative Jews that supporting their Masorti brethren in Israel constitutes a worthy philanthropic cause. That way, the next time energetic young JTS graduates want to build a congregation here, they'll get the support they deserve. And while they're at it, I wouldn't mind if they would also fund the building of a Tali school a little closer to my side of Jerusalem.
Calev Ben-David
Dec. 22, 2004
A few years ago I interviewed Levi Weiman-Kelman, the rabbi of Jerusalem's Kol Haneshema synagogue, the Reform Jerusalem shul of which I am a member.
As I knew that Levi was the son of Rabbi Wolfe Kelman, a long-time leader of American Conservative Jewry, and was himself a graduate of the movement's Jewish Theological Seminary, I was curious as to why he had ended up founding a Reform congregation here.
In fact, he said, he had indeed first gone to the Conservative Movement, which told him they didn't have the money to pay him a salary. He then turned to the former head of the Israeli Reform movement, Rabbi Richard Hirsch. "He took out a checkbook right there and asked me what I needed," Weiman-Kelman recalled.
That was two decades ago, when there were only a handful of non-Orthodox synagogues in the entire country. Today, there are over 50 Masorti (as Conservative Judaism is called here) Israeli congregations, and a comparable number of schools affiliated with the movement via the Tali educational system (which also runs religious studies programs in state "secular" schools). The Conservative Movement has also recently invested heavily in expanding the campus of its Jerusalem headquarters, and continues to run the Solomon Schechter Institute.
Yet with all that, the president of the Israeli Masorti Movement, Rabbi Ehud Bandel, felt compelled to make a plea in the pages of The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday begging for greater support from its parent organization in the US.
"A medium-sized Conservative shul in the US has a larger budget [$2.4 million] than we do," complained Bandel, who says his group has on occasion had to default salary payments. Fundraising trips to the US fall on deaf ears, although Bandel insists "I try to explain to them that the future of Conservative Jewry relies on their support."
I don't claim to have enough inside knowledge to judge the validity of Bandel's pleas. And there is something to the response provided by US Conservative rabbinical leader Joel Meyers, that as an "extremely external-focused movement," his peers contribute much more generously to other Israeli causes - including more pressing humanitarian needs - than they do to the goal of simply increasing their own flock here.
Still, as a born-and-raised Conservative Jew who today considers himself a "Masorti" Israeli (in spirit, at least), and shleps his kids halfway across Jerusalem many mornings so they can attend one of the city's precious few Tali schools, I admittedly can't be objective in this matter.
Whether Bandel is justified in his specific claims, he is surely correct in his general complaint. The US Conservative movement, to these eyes, is failing to provide the level of support deserved by its Israeli brethren. But even more important, it is missing a golden opportunity to reach out to unaffiliated Jews here on a scale now unimaginable in America.
HERE'S A curious twist: I would never have imagined the day when I would proudly declare myself a Conservative Jew.
Growing up in the US in a family that belonged to Temple Hillel of Long Island, the Conservative approach - driving to shul but parking around the corner from the synagogue (yup, my parents actually did that) - seemed to me emblematic of American Jewish wishy-washiness, nish ahin, nish aher, lacking both the authentic traditionalism of Orthodoxy and the bold revisionism of Reform.
Apparently, many of my American-born brethren agreed with me, as membership in Conservative congregations has been steadily declining from its high point in the 1960s (though that's in line with the concurrent drop in the total number of American Jews).
Once I reached Israel, though, the Conservative philosophy - respectful of Halacha (Jewish law) but recognizing the need for it to both change through evolutionary means and tolerate the compromises individuals feel they must make in the course of daily modern existence - simply seemed the most common-sense approach to religious life in a reborn Jewish state.
After all, most Israelis already define themselves as "little m" masorti - Jews who observe in some degree Shabbat and the holy days according to traditions they don't want radically altered - even if they have little awareness of the "big M" Masorti movement. These Israelis are ripe for the framework Conservative Judaism provides, as I've seen myself through my child's attendance at a Tali school, but, as Bandel admitted, "We don't have the funds to reach out to these people."
This is not to deny the formidable obstacles the movement faces in breaking through the prejudices of both devoutly Orthodox and fervently secular Israelis, including determined resistance in the public sphere. Just this summer the Tali system required a Supreme Court ruling in order to get its fair share of the funding provided by the Education Ministry for school prayer sessions.
Yet I'm convinced - as is, obviously, Bandel - that the real future of Conservative Judaism is here, where it can serve as a bridge for Jews into their tradition, and not in its birthplace, where it too often serves as an escape route out of it.
That may not be an easy message to sell to the Conservative Movement's leadership in America, which clearly has a vested interest in believing the opposite. But that doesn't make it any less true.
Maybe the trick is simply to persuade "externally-focused" Conservative Jews that supporting their Masorti brethren in Israel constitutes a worthy philanthropic cause. That way, the next time energetic young JTS graduates want to build a congregation here, they'll get the support they deserve. And while they're at it, I wouldn't mind if they would also fund the building of a Tali school a little closer to my side of Jerusalem.
Anna Quindlen on Christmas - "The Spirit of the Season"
The highlights from Anna Quindlen's Newsweek article this week:
- "After years of Jewish parents' sitting through school concerts listening to the words 'It is the night of our dear savior's birth,' maybe oversensitivity was inevitable, since any other kind of sensitivity had been in short supply."
- "Christmas is being observed exactly where it ought to be, at homes, in our hearts, among friends and families. The modern movement to exhibit it in town squares and mall food courts is precisely what has led to the secularization of one of our most solemn holy days. That's why some Jewish leaders have been uncomfortable with reducing the Chanukah menorah to a dueling religious symbol, paired with a Christmas tree for the sake of equal time. Faith is not a photo op."
- "In the meantime, if the secularized greeting of the perfume spritzer in the department store affects your celebration of the birth in Bethlehem, you've really lost your way."
- "So if people are really worried about keeping Christ in Christmas, they might personally exhibit tolerance and charity, kindness and generosity. It is the ultimate exercise of style over substance to whine about the absence of 'O Holy Night' at public events. The real point is in taking the lyrics to heart[.]"
Read the article in its entirety here.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Funny Jew Stuff
Funny selections from Jewsweek's Jewriffic Awards.
Best reference to child molestation:
"Rabbi Feldman, stop touching me!"
-- Adam Sandler on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno explaining what he was thinking when the director of his new movie, Spanglish, told him to channel a time from his childhood that would make him cry on cue.
Best rip-off of Fiddler on the Roof by a hot woman: Gwen Stefani riffs on Fiddler on the Roof on her new CD Love, Angel, Music, Baby with the song "Rich Girl," a take off of Tevye's "If I were a rich man".
"Now that you've let the secret out that I'm not Jewish, I expect my career to be done. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. My career is officially over."
-- Jason Biggs thanking the women of "The View" for alerting the world to the fact that he's not Jewish.
Best piece of political critique: "I don't think I've ever seen a time when the party that controlled the Senate, the House, the White House and the Supreme Court was so out of sorts about how little respect they get. At a certain point you want to say, "OK, Goliath. Stop pretending."
-- Jon Stewart writing about the recent elections in Rolling Stone Magazine.
Best reference to child molestation:
"Rabbi Feldman, stop touching me!"
-- Adam Sandler on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno explaining what he was thinking when the director of his new movie, Spanglish, told him to channel a time from his childhood that would make him cry on cue.
Best rip-off of Fiddler on the Roof by a hot woman: Gwen Stefani riffs on Fiddler on the Roof on her new CD Love, Angel, Music, Baby with the song "Rich Girl," a take off of Tevye's "If I were a rich man".
"Now that you've let the secret out that I'm not Jewish, I expect my career to be done. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. My career is officially over."
-- Jason Biggs thanking the women of "The View" for alerting the world to the fact that he's not Jewish.
Best piece of political critique: "I don't think I've ever seen a time when the party that controlled the Senate, the House, the White House and the Supreme Court was so out of sorts about how little respect they get. At a certain point you want to say, "OK, Goliath. Stop pretending."
-- Jon Stewart writing about the recent elections in Rolling Stone Magazine.
Great Year-End Article by George Will
2004—A Year For Witches
By George F. Will
Newsweek
In 2004 an IBM supercomputer set a world record with 36.01 trillion calculations per second. The U.S. electorate may have made its calculation the instant John Kerry, who is not a supercomputer, explained why Toy's restaurant in Canonsburg, Pa., "is my kind of place":
"You don't have to—you know, when they give you the menu, I'm always struggling: ah, what do you want?
He just gives you what he's got, right?... whatever he's cooked up that day. And I think that's the way it ought to work, for confused people like me who can't make up our minds."
This year some paleoanthropologists reported that our cousins the Neanderthals, who disappeared 30,000 years ago, had better minds than has been thought: on a plain in Spain there is a mass grave containing evidence of funeral ritual, which means that Neanderthals had a capacity for symbolism. This year Democrats stressed their superior brains. (Bumper stickers: SOME VILLAGE IN TEXAS IS MISSING THEIR [SIC] IDIOT; JOHN KERRY—BRINGING COMPLETE SENTENCES BACK TO THE WHITE HOUSE.) A campaign flier in Tennessee pictured George W. Bush's face superimposed over that of a runner in the Special Olympics, and proclaimed this message: "Voting for Bush is like running in the Special Olympics. Even if you win, you're still retarded."
From an Indonesian island came evidence that as recently as 18,000 years ago—only yesterday, as paleoanthropologists reckon—there was a race of Hobbit-size (about three feet tall) semi-people. Their small brains probably were incapable of idealism of James Kilgore's sort. In 2004 Kilgore, 56, was sentenced to six years in prison for his part in the murder of a mother of four during a 1975 California bank robbery that was supposed to help finance the Symbionese Liberation Army. Martha Stewart was sentenced to prison for lying about a crime she was not charged with. Scott Peterson was convicted of double murder—killing his wife, and killing his unborn child, a problematic idea given the current understanding of abortion rights. Before death tardily overtook another dispenser of death, Yasir Arafat, he received a letter from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—well, of animals other than people—asking him to stop using donkeys in suicide bombings. It was said that the death of this winner of the Nobel Peace Prize might make peace possible. [more...]
By George F. Will
Newsweek
In 2004 an IBM supercomputer set a world record with 36.01 trillion calculations per second. The U.S. electorate may have made its calculation the instant John Kerry, who is not a supercomputer, explained why Toy's restaurant in Canonsburg, Pa., "is my kind of place":
"You don't have to—you know, when they give you the menu, I'm always struggling: ah, what do you want?
He just gives you what he's got, right?... whatever he's cooked up that day. And I think that's the way it ought to work, for confused people like me who can't make up our minds."
This year some paleoanthropologists reported that our cousins the Neanderthals, who disappeared 30,000 years ago, had better minds than has been thought: on a plain in Spain there is a mass grave containing evidence of funeral ritual, which means that Neanderthals had a capacity for symbolism. This year Democrats stressed their superior brains. (Bumper stickers: SOME VILLAGE IN TEXAS IS MISSING THEIR [SIC] IDIOT; JOHN KERRY—BRINGING COMPLETE SENTENCES BACK TO THE WHITE HOUSE.) A campaign flier in Tennessee pictured George W. Bush's face superimposed over that of a runner in the Special Olympics, and proclaimed this message: "Voting for Bush is like running in the Special Olympics. Even if you win, you're still retarded."
From an Indonesian island came evidence that as recently as 18,000 years ago—only yesterday, as paleoanthropologists reckon—there was a race of Hobbit-size (about three feet tall) semi-people. Their small brains probably were incapable of idealism of James Kilgore's sort. In 2004 Kilgore, 56, was sentenced to six years in prison for his part in the murder of a mother of four during a 1975 California bank robbery that was supposed to help finance the Symbionese Liberation Army. Martha Stewart was sentenced to prison for lying about a crime she was not charged with. Scott Peterson was convicted of double murder—killing his wife, and killing his unborn child, a problematic idea given the current understanding of abortion rights. Before death tardily overtook another dispenser of death, Yasir Arafat, he received a letter from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—well, of animals other than people—asking him to stop using donkeys in suicide bombings. It was said that the death of this winner of the Nobel Peace Prize might make peace possible. [more...]
Monday, December 13, 2004
Israeli-developed leukemia treatment passes clinical hurdle
By David Brinn
December 12, 2004
A revolutionary Israeli treatment for leukemia using a stem cell-derived product has achieved remarkable Phase I and II trial results. Ten American patients with late-stage leukemia underwent the StemEx leukemia treatment developed by start-up Gamida-Cell and 50% confounded expectations by living past the first 100 days.
It appears to be the first successful human clinical test of a commercial product derived from stem cells.
Each year, nearly 27,000 adults and more than 2,000 children in the United States learn that they have leukemia, a malignancy of the blood-forming cells in the bone marrow.
Current treatments are based mostly on bone marrow transplants. When these transplants encounter the patients' immune systems, severe side effects result. StemEx uses progenitor and stem cells taken from the patients themselves. The population of these cells is expanded, and they are then returned to the patient's body. The results of trials on the ten terminal patients upheld Gamida-Cell's expectation that the severe side effects of current treatments would be greatly reduced.
The trial was conducted at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, one of the world's most prestigious institutes.
Gamida-Cell CEO Ehud Marom said that the trial had taken 100 days, during which the treatment on patients had been monitored. Anderson Center principal investigator Dr. Elizabeth Shpall presented the trial results last week at the 2004 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).
"Anderson is the best center for cancer in the U.S. and we wanted to work with the best center and the best principal investigator," Marom told ISRAEL21c.
According to Marom, until now using conventional treatment, only 10% of patients managed to get through 100 days. With the StemEx treatment, 50% of the patients whose cases were extreme - and for which no other treatment were available -survived 100 days.
"The patients included in the trial were in the advanced stages of leukemia. However, in the future, the treatment can be used instead of bone marrow for any stage patient," Marom said.
"Ten leukemia patients, many of whom had failed standard chemotherapy and other therapies, underwent StemEx transplants," explained principal investigator Shpall. "StemEx combines ex vivo expanded cord blood stem/progenitor cells with non-expanded cells from the same unit. The net results of the Phase I/II study indicate that StemEx is safe, and no serious adverse effects were reported in connection with the StemEx transplant. We are very excited about the data from this study. It is very important research that we believe will contribute greatly to patient care in the future."
According to Shpall, four standard parameters within the time frame of 100 days were evaluated. These included graft failure rate, transplant-related mortality, GvHD and time to engraftment. In all cases, StemEx scored well.
"The bodies of only 20% of the patients we treated rejected the transplant, compared with an average of 60% of current transplants. In addition, the time that patients required to rebuild their immune systems was shorter than for current treatments, which meant that they were less exposed to infections," Marom told Globes.
"The results of the Phase I and Phase II trials mean that our product is safe, and apparently effective. The company must now prepare for a more extensive Phase III trial," he added.
Marom told ISRAEL21c that Anderson would be used once again as a site for the trials, as well as a center in San Antonio, Texas, and other centers across the U.S. and possibly in Canada. He estimated that the next trials would begin in the first quarter of 2005, following the approval of the FDA to commence this part of the trial. "We are hoping for an FDA approval by 2007/2008," he said.
Gamida-Cell develops products based on stem cells for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases, and for cardiac and pancreatic repair. The company was founded in 1998 based on technology for stem cell expansion licensed from Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem. The StemEx is their first product which has moved past Phase II trials.
"In the development of biotechnology companies, Gamida-Cell is now a company with a product headed for Phase III trials. If these trials are successful, the drug can be registered with the FDA and marketed," said Marom.
Gamida-Cell has raised $22 million to date from Elscint (Europe-Israel), Biomedical Investments, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA), Denali Ventures, Auriga Ventures, Pamot, and Comverse Technology (Nasdaq: CMVT). The company has also signed a conditional strategic agreement with Teva.
"The results of the trials have created great interest in the company on the part of large and medium-sized pharma companies, and also in the investment community. Our goal now is to bring StemEx to market as quickly as possible," said Marom. He told ISRAEL21c that news of the StemEx success was received very positively at the ASH conference, "both from the clinical as well as the big pharma perspective."
The combined market potential of Gamida-Cell's stem cell expansion products is estimated at $40 billion worldwide. This includes umbilical cord blood stem cells as well as stem cells from the placenta, bone marrow, peripheral blood and adult organs like the liver and heart in addition to skin, neural and pancreatic tissue.
Israel is among a small group of countries that have developed their own stem-cell regulations that permit most types of work in the field. Israel's carefully regulated but open atmosphere for research has helped catapult it into the front ranks of a field that many consider the next frontier of science.
Besides Gamida-Cell, other Israeli biotech companies on the cutting edge of stem cell products include Pluristem (PLRS.OB), which multiplies stem cells found in umbilical cord blood., Tissera (OTCBB:TSSR), which is developing cell therapy to treat harmed fetuses; and ProNeuron which has developed ProCord, a treatment for complete spinal cord injury.
"What Israel has done in the laboratory and in their oversight mechanisms is a model for other nations to emulate," Georgetown University's LeRoy Walters, an expert in the global dimensions of stem-cell research, told The Forward.
The work by Gamida-Cell was carried out with adult stem cells, not embryonic stem cells which is at the heart of the controversy in the United States. That debate resulted in President Bush's 2001 decision to cut off federal funding for research on stem cells harvested from human embryos.
December 12, 2004
A revolutionary Israeli treatment for leukemia using a stem cell-derived product has achieved remarkable Phase I and II trial results. Ten American patients with late-stage leukemia underwent the StemEx leukemia treatment developed by start-up Gamida-Cell and 50% confounded expectations by living past the first 100 days.
It appears to be the first successful human clinical test of a commercial product derived from stem cells.
Each year, nearly 27,000 adults and more than 2,000 children in the United States learn that they have leukemia, a malignancy of the blood-forming cells in the bone marrow.
Current treatments are based mostly on bone marrow transplants. When these transplants encounter the patients' immune systems, severe side effects result. StemEx uses progenitor and stem cells taken from the patients themselves. The population of these cells is expanded, and they are then returned to the patient's body. The results of trials on the ten terminal patients upheld Gamida-Cell's expectation that the severe side effects of current treatments would be greatly reduced.
The trial was conducted at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, one of the world's most prestigious institutes.
Gamida-Cell CEO Ehud Marom said that the trial had taken 100 days, during which the treatment on patients had been monitored. Anderson Center principal investigator Dr. Elizabeth Shpall presented the trial results last week at the 2004 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).
"Anderson is the best center for cancer in the U.S. and we wanted to work with the best center and the best principal investigator," Marom told ISRAEL21c.
According to Marom, until now using conventional treatment, only 10% of patients managed to get through 100 days. With the StemEx treatment, 50% of the patients whose cases were extreme - and for which no other treatment were available -survived 100 days.
"The patients included in the trial were in the advanced stages of leukemia. However, in the future, the treatment can be used instead of bone marrow for any stage patient," Marom said.
"Ten leukemia patients, many of whom had failed standard chemotherapy and other therapies, underwent StemEx transplants," explained principal investigator Shpall. "StemEx combines ex vivo expanded cord blood stem/progenitor cells with non-expanded cells from the same unit. The net results of the Phase I/II study indicate that StemEx is safe, and no serious adverse effects were reported in connection with the StemEx transplant. We are very excited about the data from this study. It is very important research that we believe will contribute greatly to patient care in the future."
According to Shpall, four standard parameters within the time frame of 100 days were evaluated. These included graft failure rate, transplant-related mortality, GvHD and time to engraftment. In all cases, StemEx scored well.
"The bodies of only 20% of the patients we treated rejected the transplant, compared with an average of 60% of current transplants. In addition, the time that patients required to rebuild their immune systems was shorter than for current treatments, which meant that they were less exposed to infections," Marom told Globes.
"The results of the Phase I and Phase II trials mean that our product is safe, and apparently effective. The company must now prepare for a more extensive Phase III trial," he added.
Marom told ISRAEL21c that Anderson would be used once again as a site for the trials, as well as a center in San Antonio, Texas, and other centers across the U.S. and possibly in Canada. He estimated that the next trials would begin in the first quarter of 2005, following the approval of the FDA to commence this part of the trial. "We are hoping for an FDA approval by 2007/2008," he said.
Gamida-Cell develops products based on stem cells for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases, and for cardiac and pancreatic repair. The company was founded in 1998 based on technology for stem cell expansion licensed from Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem. The StemEx is their first product which has moved past Phase II trials.
"In the development of biotechnology companies, Gamida-Cell is now a company with a product headed for Phase III trials. If these trials are successful, the drug can be registered with the FDA and marketed," said Marom.
Gamida-Cell has raised $22 million to date from Elscint (Europe-Israel), Biomedical Investments, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA), Denali Ventures, Auriga Ventures, Pamot, and Comverse Technology (Nasdaq: CMVT). The company has also signed a conditional strategic agreement with Teva.
"The results of the trials have created great interest in the company on the part of large and medium-sized pharma companies, and also in the investment community. Our goal now is to bring StemEx to market as quickly as possible," said Marom. He told ISRAEL21c that news of the StemEx success was received very positively at the ASH conference, "both from the clinical as well as the big pharma perspective."
The combined market potential of Gamida-Cell's stem cell expansion products is estimated at $40 billion worldwide. This includes umbilical cord blood stem cells as well as stem cells from the placenta, bone marrow, peripheral blood and adult organs like the liver and heart in addition to skin, neural and pancreatic tissue.
Israel is among a small group of countries that have developed their own stem-cell regulations that permit most types of work in the field. Israel's carefully regulated but open atmosphere for research has helped catapult it into the front ranks of a field that many consider the next frontier of science.
Besides Gamida-Cell, other Israeli biotech companies on the cutting edge of stem cell products include Pluristem (PLRS.OB), which multiplies stem cells found in umbilical cord blood., Tissera (OTCBB:TSSR), which is developing cell therapy to treat harmed fetuses; and ProNeuron which has developed ProCord, a treatment for complete spinal cord injury.
"What Israel has done in the laboratory and in their oversight mechanisms is a model for other nations to emulate," Georgetown University's LeRoy Walters, an expert in the global dimensions of stem-cell research, told The Forward.
The work by Gamida-Cell was carried out with adult stem cells, not embryonic stem cells which is at the heart of the controversy in the United States. That debate resulted in President Bush's 2001 decision to cut off federal funding for research on stem cells harvested from human embryos.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
President Bush Celebrates Chanukkah in White House
The lighting of the White House menorah and an a capella concert by Kol Zimra at the White House. Click here for the video.
Saturday, December 11, 2004
Free Press Column about Winter Holiday Season
DAVID CRUMM: Spiritual quest starts in metro Detroit
BY DAVID CRUMM
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
December 10, 2004
For years, I've heard Jewish parents talk about the Christmas envy their kids can feel at this time of year, but I'd never heard of Hanukkah envy until recently.
My son Benjamin, 15, and I were untangling strands of Christmas lights in front of our house when he asked, "Dad, why couldn't we have been Jewish? Their holidays are so cool! They get to eat special meals, read things, light candles, do things together."
"We're doing this together," I said, hefting a snarl of lights.
"Uh, right, Dad," he said with a shrug. "Maybe it's crazy, but it feels like we should do something more with the holidays."
I knew that his question was far from crazy. He was slicing through our holiday hoopla with the laser vision of youth. And that's how a spiritual quest unfolded this week that wound up connecting with the plight of refugees in Africa, a mountain of winter coats in Detroit and an unusual Christmas party tonight in Royal Oak.
My first stop involved calls to two of the country's top religious authors, Christian Bible scholar Marcus Borg and Jewish cultural expert Scott-Martin Kosofsky. They told me that my son's query is the same question that countless Americans are asking right now.
Kosofsky's newest effort is "The Book of Customs: A Complete Handbook for the Jewish Year." When I asked him about the meaning of Hanukkah, he said, "Most of us grew up knowing full well that this is considered a minor holiday, and that a lot of what we see in Hanukkah today is a case of Christmas envy that developed in Jewish families to give us a version of the Christmas gift-giving season. But there's really much more to Hanukkah than that."
The festival, which ends with the lighting of an eighth candle in Jewish homes on Tuesday evening, marks an ancient triumph of religious freedom. A Jewish group called the Maccabees fought successfully to reclaim their temple in Jerusalem from a ruler who was trying to replace Judaism with Greek culture. Jews light candles to recall the light rekindled in the temple by the Maccabees. "And, if you focus on that, then this is a powerful story of liberation," Kosofsky said. "Especially with the founding of the state of Israel, the Maccabean period is a time people harken back to and say: We did it then; we can do it again."
What amazed me was that Borg pointed to similar themes in Christmas. Borg's "The Heart of Christianity" is a plea for feuding Christians to agree on some basic truths.
"And in Christmas, we've got several basic themes," Borg said. "One is the theme of light coming into the darkness. That's an ancient symbol of enlightenment and deliverance.
"But another theme is both theological and political. It's the theme of Jesus as the son of God, which was a title claimed by the Roman emperor. So, it's very powerful: a story of light in our darkness and of one who comes to challenge the kingdoms of this world."
It's a disservice to obscure the two faiths' many differences, but I wanted to test the assumption that there is a middle ground in holiday themes. And, looking around metro Detroit, I found that this idea makes a lot of sense.
At the West Bloomfield congregation Beth Ahm at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Rabbi Jason Miller is inviting the public to join in a nationwide Sabbath of Conscience on Darfur. (Beth Ahm is at 5075 W. Maple Road.)
"One lesson from both Christmas and Hanukkah is that, when you're in the dark, you need light," Miller said in describing this unusual effort. "As Jewish people, we say that we're called to be a light unto the nations. We need to show that hope is possible, even in places that seem hopeless to us like the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan. So, hundreds of Conservative rabbis across the country have agreed to address Darfur during Hanukkah."
On Saturday, Miller will talk about practical ways people can contribute to efforts to help end the displacement and massacre of thousands of families in Darfur.
Or, consider this: At 7 p.m. today in Royal Oak, there's a Christmas party for people with AIDS, their families and friends. Over the years, as I've brought up this popular annual event to someone who's never heard of it, there's often a reflexive wince. Apparently, it's jarring to hear the words Christmas and AIDS in the same breath.
But there's hardly another religious service in the course of a year that's as richly uplifting as this celebration. The host is St. John's Episcopal Church at Woodward and 11 Mile.
And that brings me to the mountain of coats in northwest Detroit. My last stop was a visit with Capt. K. Kendall Mathews, Detroit commander of the Salvation Army. I found the uniformed clergyman at the Army's Brightmoor Community Center, surrounded by a vast, fluffy rainbow of winter coats.
"We've already distributed 10,000 coats this winter around Detroit, but these are about 300 more we've just received," he said Thursday as volunteers sorted the garments.
Suddenly, the challenge of untangling heaps of coats seemed a lot more important to me than untangling Christmas lights. I should bring my son down here one day and help, I thought.
"But you know what?" Mathews told me. "The holidays are great because they inspire people to kick it up a notch and give more. But, if people truly understood what God was doing for us, I think they'd see that we should be doing this as a year-round thing."
Copyright © 2004 Detroit Free Press Inc.
BY DAVID CRUMM
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
December 10, 2004
For years, I've heard Jewish parents talk about the Christmas envy their kids can feel at this time of year, but I'd never heard of Hanukkah envy until recently.
My son Benjamin, 15, and I were untangling strands of Christmas lights in front of our house when he asked, "Dad, why couldn't we have been Jewish? Their holidays are so cool! They get to eat special meals, read things, light candles, do things together."
"We're doing this together," I said, hefting a snarl of lights.
"Uh, right, Dad," he said with a shrug. "Maybe it's crazy, but it feels like we should do something more with the holidays."
I knew that his question was far from crazy. He was slicing through our holiday hoopla with the laser vision of youth. And that's how a spiritual quest unfolded this week that wound up connecting with the plight of refugees in Africa, a mountain of winter coats in Detroit and an unusual Christmas party tonight in Royal Oak.
My first stop involved calls to two of the country's top religious authors, Christian Bible scholar Marcus Borg and Jewish cultural expert Scott-Martin Kosofsky. They told me that my son's query is the same question that countless Americans are asking right now.
Kosofsky's newest effort is "The Book of Customs: A Complete Handbook for the Jewish Year." When I asked him about the meaning of Hanukkah, he said, "Most of us grew up knowing full well that this is considered a minor holiday, and that a lot of what we see in Hanukkah today is a case of Christmas envy that developed in Jewish families to give us a version of the Christmas gift-giving season. But there's really much more to Hanukkah than that."
The festival, which ends with the lighting of an eighth candle in Jewish homes on Tuesday evening, marks an ancient triumph of religious freedom. A Jewish group called the Maccabees fought successfully to reclaim their temple in Jerusalem from a ruler who was trying to replace Judaism with Greek culture. Jews light candles to recall the light rekindled in the temple by the Maccabees. "And, if you focus on that, then this is a powerful story of liberation," Kosofsky said. "Especially with the founding of the state of Israel, the Maccabean period is a time people harken back to and say: We did it then; we can do it again."
What amazed me was that Borg pointed to similar themes in Christmas. Borg's "The Heart of Christianity" is a plea for feuding Christians to agree on some basic truths.
"And in Christmas, we've got several basic themes," Borg said. "One is the theme of light coming into the darkness. That's an ancient symbol of enlightenment and deliverance.
"But another theme is both theological and political. It's the theme of Jesus as the son of God, which was a title claimed by the Roman emperor. So, it's very powerful: a story of light in our darkness and of one who comes to challenge the kingdoms of this world."
It's a disservice to obscure the two faiths' many differences, but I wanted to test the assumption that there is a middle ground in holiday themes. And, looking around metro Detroit, I found that this idea makes a lot of sense.
At the West Bloomfield congregation Beth Ahm at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Rabbi Jason Miller is inviting the public to join in a nationwide Sabbath of Conscience on Darfur. (Beth Ahm is at 5075 W. Maple Road.)
"One lesson from both Christmas and Hanukkah is that, when you're in the dark, you need light," Miller said in describing this unusual effort. "As Jewish people, we say that we're called to be a light unto the nations. We need to show that hope is possible, even in places that seem hopeless to us like the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan. So, hundreds of Conservative rabbis across the country have agreed to address Darfur during Hanukkah."
On Saturday, Miller will talk about practical ways people can contribute to efforts to help end the displacement and massacre of thousands of families in Darfur.
Or, consider this: At 7 p.m. today in Royal Oak, there's a Christmas party for people with AIDS, their families and friends. Over the years, as I've brought up this popular annual event to someone who's never heard of it, there's often a reflexive wince. Apparently, it's jarring to hear the words Christmas and AIDS in the same breath.
But there's hardly another religious service in the course of a year that's as richly uplifting as this celebration. The host is St. John's Episcopal Church at Woodward and 11 Mile.
And that brings me to the mountain of coats in northwest Detroit. My last stop was a visit with Capt. K. Kendall Mathews, Detroit commander of the Salvation Army. I found the uniformed clergyman at the Army's Brightmoor Community Center, surrounded by a vast, fluffy rainbow of winter coats.
"We've already distributed 10,000 coats this winter around Detroit, but these are about 300 more we've just received," he said Thursday as volunteers sorted the garments.
Suddenly, the challenge of untangling heaps of coats seemed a lot more important to me than untangling Christmas lights. I should bring my son down here one day and help, I thought.
"But you know what?" Mathews told me. "The holidays are great because they inspire people to kick it up a notch and give more. But, if people truly understood what God was doing for us, I think they'd see that we should be doing this as a year-round thing."
Copyright © 2004 Detroit Free Press Inc.
Friday, December 10, 2004
Kolel Moshe Lifelong Learning Institute: Meets at Congregation B'nai Moshe, 6800 Drake, West Bloomfield. Nancy Kaplan: 248-737-1931. "The Joseph Story: Setting the Stage for Development of the Jewish People," 11 a.m. Dec. 12. Brunch and Learn program with Rabbi Jason A. Miller of the Hillel Foundation at the University of Michigan. Cosponsored with Congregation Chaye Olam. $10. Drop-in.
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Happy Chanukkah
Happy Chanukkah to all our friends and family.
Rabbi Jason Miller & Family wishes you a Chag Chanukkah Sameach 
Saturday, December 04, 2004
Starbucks is doing good stuff
This past week Elissa and I attended a wonderful speech by Starbucks' Founder and Chairman Howard Schultz. He was the featured speaker at the Main Event -- Jewish Federation of Washtenaw County's (Ann Arbor) annual fundraiser.
Schultz spoke of his beginnings, growing up poor in the Brooklyn projects with a blue-collar father who was unemployed for much of his childhood. He talked about the growth of the company and its expansion throughout the world into several distinct cultures (Japan, France, and the Middle East). He explained his vision to be an ethical corporate executive and how the Jewish values instilled in him as a young man have helped him to achieve this. He is extremely generous with his fortune, paying for all of his employees' health care (part-time employees as well) and subsidizing their education. He did not accept any money for this speaking engagement and funded his own travel expenses as well as his staff who accompanied him to Ann Arbor.
Please consider Howard Schultz' generosity and ethical acts before criticizing him or the Starbucks company.
Schultz spoke of his beginnings, growing up poor in the Brooklyn projects with a blue-collar father who was unemployed for much of his childhood. He talked about the growth of the company and its expansion throughout the world into several distinct cultures (Japan, France, and the Middle East). He explained his vision to be an ethical corporate executive and how the Jewish values instilled in him as a young man have helped him to achieve this. He is extremely generous with his fortune, paying for all of his employees' health care (part-time employees as well) and subsidizing their education. He did not accept any money for this speaking engagement and funded his own travel expenses as well as his staff who accompanied him to Ann Arbor.
Please consider Howard Schultz' generosity and ethical acts before criticizing him or the Starbucks company.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Friday, November 26, 2004
Parshat Vayishlach - D'var Torah for Camp Ramah Canada
Our parsha this week tells of the transformation of an individual, our forefather Jacob. This personal transformation also lays the foundation for the creation of a people, Israel. The Torah teaches that Jacob was left alone in the dark when an angel wrestled with him until the break of dawn. When Jacob's adversary saw that he had not prevailed against him, he dislocated Jacob's hip at its socket. He then pleaded that Jacob let him go, but Jacob would not let him go until he was blessed. At this point our ancestor’s name is altered from "Jacob" to "Israel."
During the course of a summer at Camp Ramah (and throughout several summers as well) campers experience a personal transformation much like Jacob. Many campers find that Camp Ramah is a comfortable venue for wrestling with one's Jewish identity. The summer is a time for self-discovery and renewal. It is a time for both campers and staff to engage in the opportunities and challenges of wrestling with God and matters of faith and spirituality. May we all celebrate in the blessing of our children who have the Ramah experience to struggle, seek, change, and grow. Perhaps it is truly during the summer that our future generations show us the path from simply being like Jacob, lonlely strugglers, to becoming Israel, our holy community.
During the course of a summer at Camp Ramah (and throughout several summers as well) campers experience a personal transformation much like Jacob. Many campers find that Camp Ramah is a comfortable venue for wrestling with one's Jewish identity. The summer is a time for self-discovery and renewal. It is a time for both campers and staff to engage in the opportunities and challenges of wrestling with God and matters of faith and spirituality. May we all celebrate in the blessing of our children who have the Ramah experience to struggle, seek, change, and grow. Perhaps it is truly during the summer that our future generations show us the path from simply being like Jacob, lonlely strugglers, to becoming Israel, our holy community.
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Thanksgiving: the American Sukkot?
LINDA MOREL
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Did you know that Thanksgiving is really a Jewish holiday?
Although Thanksgiving is not on the Jewish calendar, historians believe Sukkot may have inspired America's favorite farewell to fall, often nicknamed "Turkey Day."
"The pilgrims based their customs on the Bible," says Gloria Kaufer Greene, author of the "New Jewish Holiday Cookbook" (Times Books, $29.95 hardcover). "They knew that Sukkot was an autumn harvest festival, and there is evidence that they fashioned the first Thanksgiving after the Jewish custom of celebrating the success of the year's crops."
Linda Burghardt, author of "Jewish Holiday Traditions" (Citadel Press, $24.95 hardcover), says, "Sukkot is considered a model for Thanksgiving. Both holidays revolve around showing gratitude for a bountiful harvest."
Today Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, but President Franklin Roosevelt didn't propose this timing until 1939.
It was Abraham Lincoln who made Thanksgiving a national holiday. Roosevelt actually changed Lincoln's decree that Thanksgiving be observed on the last Thursday in November, which sometimes fell on the fifth Thursday of the month.
The pilgrims invited local Indians to the first Thanksgiving during the fall of 1621. Historians speculate that this celebration occurred somewhere between Sept. 21 and Nov. 9, but most likely in early October, around the time of Sukkot.
"Originally, Sukkot entailed a pilgrimage to Jerusalem," says Greene, who believes the two holidays share much in common. [...more...]
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Did you know that Thanksgiving is really a Jewish holiday?
Although Thanksgiving is not on the Jewish calendar, historians believe Sukkot may have inspired America's favorite farewell to fall, often nicknamed "Turkey Day."
"The pilgrims based their customs on the Bible," says Gloria Kaufer Greene, author of the "New Jewish Holiday Cookbook" (Times Books, $29.95 hardcover). "They knew that Sukkot was an autumn harvest festival, and there is evidence that they fashioned the first Thanksgiving after the Jewish custom of celebrating the success of the year's crops."
Linda Burghardt, author of "Jewish Holiday Traditions" (Citadel Press, $24.95 hardcover), says, "Sukkot is considered a model for Thanksgiving. Both holidays revolve around showing gratitude for a bountiful harvest."
Today Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, but President Franklin Roosevelt didn't propose this timing until 1939.
It was Abraham Lincoln who made Thanksgiving a national holiday. Roosevelt actually changed Lincoln's decree that Thanksgiving be observed on the last Thursday in November, which sometimes fell on the fifth Thursday of the month.
The pilgrims invited local Indians to the first Thanksgiving during the fall of 1621. Historians speculate that this celebration occurred somewhere between Sept. 21 and Nov. 9, but most likely in early October, around the time of Sukkot.
"Originally, Sukkot entailed a pilgrimage to Jerusalem," says Greene, who believes the two holidays share much in common. [...more...]
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Question: What is the truest definition of Globalization?
Answer: Princess Diana's death.
Question: How come?
Answer: An English princess with an Egyptian boyfriend crashes in a French tunnel, driving a German car with a Dutch engine, driven by a Belgian who was drunk on Scottish whisky, (check the bottle before you change the spelling) followed closely by Italian Paparazzi, on Japanese motorcycles; treated by an American doctor, using Brazilian medicines.
This is sent to you by a Canadian, using Bill Gates's technology, and you are probably reading this on your computer, that uses Taiwanese chips, and a Korean monitor, assembled by Bangladeshi workers in a Singapore plant, transported by Indian lorry-drivers, hijacked by Indonesians, unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen, and trucked to you by Mexican illegals.....
That, my friends, is Globalization.
Question: How come?
Answer: An English princess with an Egyptian boyfriend crashes in a French tunnel, driving a German car with a Dutch engine, driven by a Belgian who was drunk on Scottish whisky, (check the bottle before you change the spelling) followed closely by Italian Paparazzi, on Japanese motorcycles; treated by an American doctor, using Brazilian medicines.
This is sent to you by a Canadian, using Bill Gates's technology, and you are probably reading this on your computer, that uses Taiwanese chips, and a Korean monitor, assembled by Bangladeshi workers in a Singapore plant, transported by Indian lorry-drivers, hijacked by Indonesians, unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen, and trucked to you by Mexican illegals.....
That, my friends, is Globalization.
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Racism Studies Find Rational Part of Brain Can Override Prejudice
From the Wall Street Journal (11-19-04)
By SHARON BEGLEY
When scientists theorize about why racism is pervasive -- so much so that some have suggested it is hard-wired into us -- they come up with something like this: Back when humans were venturing out of the species' birthplace in east Africa, each little band mostly kept to itself.
But occasionally someone, searching for food or territory or maybe adventure, came upon someone unfamiliar, from a different band.
He could wait for the thoughtful, cognitive part of his brain to assess the stranger. Or he could follow the instincts of the primitive, vigilance and wariness-inducing part of his brain, instantly identifying the guy as an outsider and then either running like heck or assaulting him. With this reaction, he was more likely to live and reproduce. We, the descendants of such people, inherited their genetically based brain modules, which reflexively classify people as "like me" or "unlike me." And thus was racism wired into humankind.
Leave aside that this fable is impossible to test and rests on a questionable assumption (at the dawn of human history, people looked pretty much alike even if they belonged to different bands). It has nevertheless exerted a powerful hold on the imaginations of those who regard racism as a fundamental and therefore inevitable human attribute. More evidence: Although many white Americans consider themselves unbiased, when unconscious stereotypes are measured, some 90% implicitly link blacks with negative traits (evil, failure).
But recent studies challenge the conclusion that racism is natural and unavoidable.
Evidence that we are wired for racism comes from studies in which whites were shown pictures of black faces. That typically produced a spike in activity in the part of the brain, called the amygdala, that is the source of wariness and vigilance, responding automatically and emotionally to possible threats. The greater the whites' negative attitude toward blacks, as measured on the unconscious-stereotyping test, the greater the activity in the amygdala when they saw black faces, compared with the activity when they saw white ones. (Data from studies in which blacks saw white faces are less clear-cut.)
But that primitive response is not inevitable. In a new study, researchers found that it indeed occurred when the faces were flashed for 30 milliseconds, so quickly that they could be seen only subconsciously. There was no such difference in amygdala activity, however, when the white volunteers saw faces for 525 milliseconds, scientists led by William Cunningham of the University of Toronto will report next month in the journal Psychological Science.
Instead, there was greater activity in the prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate. Both regions are associated with higher thought and with inhibition and control of reflexive responses. This suggests that the thoughtful, rational part of the brain snuffed out the prejudicial response that would have otherwise popped up from the amygdala. In fact, people who showed the most unconscious bias on the test of unconscious stereotyping, and thus had the most to control, also showed the greatest activation of higher brain functions when they saw black faces.
"If people have a chance, they can modify or override the emotional response with the cognitive regions of their brain," says Prof. Cunningham.
Although you might think that racism is fundamental and inevitable because it emanates from a primitive part of the brain, even if we can override it with a higher region, Prof. Cunningham demurs: "It's silly to say that these automatic reactions are the true you," or that they are any more "you" than thoughtful reactions that reflect consciousness and beliefs.
Consider what happened when white volunteers looked at yearbook photos of black or white faces for two seconds to determine any of three things: if they were over 21, if there was a dot on the face, or if the person depicted looked as if he or she liked a particular vegetable.
There was no extra activity in the amygdala when the whites looked for a dot on a black face, found psychologist Susan Fiske of Princeton University. They were probably seeing the faces not as faces but as mere background for a dot, so no racist feelings surfaced. But there was a spike in amygdala activity when the whites scrutinized the black faces to assess age. Categorizing someone for one purpose (age) seemed to activate stereotypes of another category (race).
But then the volunteers looked at black faces to assess their affinity for asparagus (or celery, or carrots). There was no amygdala spike. Why? This task forced the volunteers to see black faces as those of unique individuals. That inhibited what Prof. Fiske calls "category-based emotional responses" generated by the amygdala.
"Prejudice is not inevitable," she concludes in a paper to be published in January. To the contrary. With a conscious goal to see someone as unique, the default response -- race-based and stereotyped -- "can evaporate. We have some control over how we look at people. You're not responsible for what goes into your head -- and people are fooling themselves if they think they can be colorblind -- but we are responsible for what we do with that information."
By SHARON BEGLEY
When scientists theorize about why racism is pervasive -- so much so that some have suggested it is hard-wired into us -- they come up with something like this: Back when humans were venturing out of the species' birthplace in east Africa, each little band mostly kept to itself.
But occasionally someone, searching for food or territory or maybe adventure, came upon someone unfamiliar, from a different band.
He could wait for the thoughtful, cognitive part of his brain to assess the stranger. Or he could follow the instincts of the primitive, vigilance and wariness-inducing part of his brain, instantly identifying the guy as an outsider and then either running like heck or assaulting him. With this reaction, he was more likely to live and reproduce. We, the descendants of such people, inherited their genetically based brain modules, which reflexively classify people as "like me" or "unlike me." And thus was racism wired into humankind.
Leave aside that this fable is impossible to test and rests on a questionable assumption (at the dawn of human history, people looked pretty much alike even if they belonged to different bands). It has nevertheless exerted a powerful hold on the imaginations of those who regard racism as a fundamental and therefore inevitable human attribute. More evidence: Although many white Americans consider themselves unbiased, when unconscious stereotypes are measured, some 90% implicitly link blacks with negative traits (evil, failure).
But recent studies challenge the conclusion that racism is natural and unavoidable.
Evidence that we are wired for racism comes from studies in which whites were shown pictures of black faces. That typically produced a spike in activity in the part of the brain, called the amygdala, that is the source of wariness and vigilance, responding automatically and emotionally to possible threats. The greater the whites' negative attitude toward blacks, as measured on the unconscious-stereotyping test, the greater the activity in the amygdala when they saw black faces, compared with the activity when they saw white ones. (Data from studies in which blacks saw white faces are less clear-cut.)
But that primitive response is not inevitable. In a new study, researchers found that it indeed occurred when the faces were flashed for 30 milliseconds, so quickly that they could be seen only subconsciously. There was no such difference in amygdala activity, however, when the white volunteers saw faces for 525 milliseconds, scientists led by William Cunningham of the University of Toronto will report next month in the journal Psychological Science.
Instead, there was greater activity in the prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate. Both regions are associated with higher thought and with inhibition and control of reflexive responses. This suggests that the thoughtful, rational part of the brain snuffed out the prejudicial response that would have otherwise popped up from the amygdala. In fact, people who showed the most unconscious bias on the test of unconscious stereotyping, and thus had the most to control, also showed the greatest activation of higher brain functions when they saw black faces.
"If people have a chance, they can modify or override the emotional response with the cognitive regions of their brain," says Prof. Cunningham.
Although you might think that racism is fundamental and inevitable because it emanates from a primitive part of the brain, even if we can override it with a higher region, Prof. Cunningham demurs: "It's silly to say that these automatic reactions are the true you," or that they are any more "you" than thoughtful reactions that reflect consciousness and beliefs.
Consider what happened when white volunteers looked at yearbook photos of black or white faces for two seconds to determine any of three things: if they were over 21, if there was a dot on the face, or if the person depicted looked as if he or she liked a particular vegetable.
There was no extra activity in the amygdala when the whites looked for a dot on a black face, found psychologist Susan Fiske of Princeton University. They were probably seeing the faces not as faces but as mere background for a dot, so no racist feelings surfaced. But there was a spike in amygdala activity when the whites scrutinized the black faces to assess age. Categorizing someone for one purpose (age) seemed to activate stereotypes of another category (race).
But then the volunteers looked at black faces to assess their affinity for asparagus (or celery, or carrots). There was no amygdala spike. Why? This task forced the volunteers to see black faces as those of unique individuals. That inhibited what Prof. Fiske calls "category-based emotional responses" generated by the amygdala.
"Prejudice is not inevitable," she concludes in a paper to be published in January. To the contrary. With a conscious goal to see someone as unique, the default response -- race-based and stereotyped -- "can evaporate. We have some control over how we look at people. You're not responsible for what goes into your head -- and people are fooling themselves if they think they can be colorblind -- but we are responsible for what we do with that information."
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Photos of the New Ben Gurion Airport Terminal
Here are some great photos from the new terminal at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. I look forward to seeing it firsthand next month when I land in the Holy Land with twenty college students from the University of Michigan as part of birthright israel.
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Jewish Comedy Videos on the Web
Teaching a Jewish Humor and Jewish Comedians elective to high school students at Nosh 'n' Drash at Adat Shalom Synagogue, I now frequent this funny website Shtik.com. The site is sponsored by Machers.com, your gateway to the Jewish Community.
Check it out.
Check it out.
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Classes in Judaic Studies, Drawing a Non-Jewish Class
By SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN
New York Times
November 3, 2004
For Shivani Subryan, the whole thing started with a wig. There was this guidance counselor at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, a woman named Kornhaber, and she wore a blond wig. And when Shivani was a junior or senior there in the late 1990's, she heard all the whispers from her classmates about the reason. Mrs. Kornhaber was bald. No, Mrs. Kornhaber had cancer.
The counselor looked pretty healthy and normal to Shivani, though. She had a different idea, a vague sense that the wig had something to do with the fact Mrs. Kornhaber was Jewish. Not that Shivani knew much about Jews. She was as an immigrant from Guyana of Indian ancestry, a resident of a mostly Latino neighborhood along the Grand Concourse, a neighborhood that hadn't been Jewish for 40 years, more than twice as long as Shivani had been alive.
That question about the wig, that stray bit of curiosity, kept rattling around Shivani's brain as she entered City College and took up a major in psychology. So last winter, having finished most of her required classes, she finally indulged the wonderment and registered for a course in Jewish studies on films about the Holocaust.
Intrigued and affected by that introduction, she interned for academic credit over the summer with the Jewish Community Relations Council. Then, this fall, she signed up for classes in Holocaust history and Jewish life in New York. There she learned that Mrs. Kornhaber wore the wig in compliance with Jewish religious law instructing that a married woman not show her real hair to any man except her husband.
Along the way, Shivani declared a second major in Jewish studies. To fulfill it, she will take no less than four Jewish studies classes next spring, her final semester. "People ask me all the time: 'Are you Jewish? Where are you from?' " she said after class one day last week. "And I tell them it's not about being Jewish. It's about exploration."
Her exploration typifies a striking trend at City College and in Jewish studies nationally - its appeal to gentiles. Of the 250 students enrolled in Jewish studies classes at City College, 26 of them majoring and 160 minoring in the field, some 95 percent are not Jewish, according to Prof. Roy Mittelman, the director of the program. The more than 100 colleges and universities offering Jewish studies include such Catholic institutions as Fordham and Scranton, the Quaker-based Earlham College in Indiana, and public ones like the University of Kentucky and Portland State in Oregon that are far from any sizable Jewish community.
This explosion in Jewish studies, a discipline that barely existed 35 years ago, reflects a confluence of forces: the roots-consciousness that gave rise to all sorts of ethnic studies programs in the late 1960's; the emergence of Jewish family foundations eager to endow the programs; and the growing popularity of Jewish parochial schools covering the elementary and secondary grades. At the outset, at least, Jewish studies was by Jews, about Jews, for Jews.
"No. 1 was the desire to reach Jewish kids," said Judith Baskin, the president of the Association for Jewish Studies, which has 1,500 professors and graduate students as members. "No. 2 was to demonstrate that Jewish studies has a place in the academic curriculum as part of Western civilization. No. 3 was that it would increase tolerance if non-Jewish students learn about the Jewish experience."
The recent fascination of gentiles with Jewish studies, then, arrived as a pleasant, and wholly unexpected, shock. Nowhere does this phenomenon carry greater historical resonance than at City College, an institution deeply intertwined with the history of American Jewry.
In the decades before World War II, when many elite universities held quotas on Jewish students, City became known as "the poor man's Harvard," the launching pad for intellectuals like Irving Howe and Irving Kristol. By the 1980's, with Jews now flocking to the colleges that formerly had barred them and City College a predominantly nonwhite school, it suffered national notoriety for the anti-Semitic diatribes of Leonard Jeffries, a tenured professor of black studies.
THE success of Professor Mittelman's program represents a third wave, part of the overall resurgence of City College. While the Jewish studies courses do attract a few Jews, most of them immigrants from the former Soviet Union, they overwhelmingly draw those self-described explorers like Shivani Subryan.
ALONGSIDE her in Rabbi Bob Kaplan's class on Jewish life in New York on a recent morning sat immigrants from Colombia, Slovakia, South Korea and the Dominican Republic. As they discussed Jewish poverty on the Lower East Side, Jewish disapproval of interfaith marriage and the struggle to learn English, as depicted in Leo Rosten's novel "The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N," they were by inference learning about their own generation of new Americans.
"The kids see Jews as a successful immigrant group and are interested in what happened," Rabbi Kaplan said. "I always get asked, 'How did you guys do it?' "
More than pragmatism alone, though, has brought non-Jews into the classes, which range in content from theology to history to film and literature. Ardent Christians such as Jichan Kim, an immigrant from South Korea, and Jameelah Lewis, an African-American raised in Ohio, came seeking the Judaic roots of their faith and their savior. Kebba Jallow, an immigrant from Gambia, was motivated paradoxically by having heard so many anti-Jewish slurs in America.
"I had a weird curiosity because I'd accepted all those ideas - Jews are cheap, Jews are always whining about the Holocaust," he recalled. "I didn't have the knowledge to contest it. The classes redefined the stereotypes for me. They were just an eye-opener."
Sinia Randolph, a history major from Harlem, interviewed an aging survivor as part of her research for Professor Mittelman's class in the Holocaust. The experience changed her way of viewing the tragedies of Jews and African-Americans, which all too often have served as the basis of an invidious game of genocide one-upmanship.
"I know that a lot of time African-Americans think slavery was worst, and maybe deep down I did," she said. "I mean I knew of Hitler and the six million, but that was as far as it went. Coming into this class, I've realized that the suffering is the same. The same inhumanity. The same cruelty."
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
New York Times
November 3, 2004
For Shivani Subryan, the whole thing started with a wig. There was this guidance counselor at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, a woman named Kornhaber, and she wore a blond wig. And when Shivani was a junior or senior there in the late 1990's, she heard all the whispers from her classmates about the reason. Mrs. Kornhaber was bald. No, Mrs. Kornhaber had cancer.
The counselor looked pretty healthy and normal to Shivani, though. She had a different idea, a vague sense that the wig had something to do with the fact Mrs. Kornhaber was Jewish. Not that Shivani knew much about Jews. She was as an immigrant from Guyana of Indian ancestry, a resident of a mostly Latino neighborhood along the Grand Concourse, a neighborhood that hadn't been Jewish for 40 years, more than twice as long as Shivani had been alive.
That question about the wig, that stray bit of curiosity, kept rattling around Shivani's brain as she entered City College and took up a major in psychology. So last winter, having finished most of her required classes, she finally indulged the wonderment and registered for a course in Jewish studies on films about the Holocaust.
Intrigued and affected by that introduction, she interned for academic credit over the summer with the Jewish Community Relations Council. Then, this fall, she signed up for classes in Holocaust history and Jewish life in New York. There she learned that Mrs. Kornhaber wore the wig in compliance with Jewish religious law instructing that a married woman not show her real hair to any man except her husband.
Along the way, Shivani declared a second major in Jewish studies. To fulfill it, she will take no less than four Jewish studies classes next spring, her final semester. "People ask me all the time: 'Are you Jewish? Where are you from?' " she said after class one day last week. "And I tell them it's not about being Jewish. It's about exploration."
Her exploration typifies a striking trend at City College and in Jewish studies nationally - its appeal to gentiles. Of the 250 students enrolled in Jewish studies classes at City College, 26 of them majoring and 160 minoring in the field, some 95 percent are not Jewish, according to Prof. Roy Mittelman, the director of the program. The more than 100 colleges and universities offering Jewish studies include such Catholic institutions as Fordham and Scranton, the Quaker-based Earlham College in Indiana, and public ones like the University of Kentucky and Portland State in Oregon that are far from any sizable Jewish community.
This explosion in Jewish studies, a discipline that barely existed 35 years ago, reflects a confluence of forces: the roots-consciousness that gave rise to all sorts of ethnic studies programs in the late 1960's; the emergence of Jewish family foundations eager to endow the programs; and the growing popularity of Jewish parochial schools covering the elementary and secondary grades. At the outset, at least, Jewish studies was by Jews, about Jews, for Jews.
"No. 1 was the desire to reach Jewish kids," said Judith Baskin, the president of the Association for Jewish Studies, which has 1,500 professors and graduate students as members. "No. 2 was to demonstrate that Jewish studies has a place in the academic curriculum as part of Western civilization. No. 3 was that it would increase tolerance if non-Jewish students learn about the Jewish experience."
The recent fascination of gentiles with Jewish studies, then, arrived as a pleasant, and wholly unexpected, shock. Nowhere does this phenomenon carry greater historical resonance than at City College, an institution deeply intertwined with the history of American Jewry.
In the decades before World War II, when many elite universities held quotas on Jewish students, City became known as "the poor man's Harvard," the launching pad for intellectuals like Irving Howe and Irving Kristol. By the 1980's, with Jews now flocking to the colleges that formerly had barred them and City College a predominantly nonwhite school, it suffered national notoriety for the anti-Semitic diatribes of Leonard Jeffries, a tenured professor of black studies.
THE success of Professor Mittelman's program represents a third wave, part of the overall resurgence of City College. While the Jewish studies courses do attract a few Jews, most of them immigrants from the former Soviet Union, they overwhelmingly draw those self-described explorers like Shivani Subryan.
ALONGSIDE her in Rabbi Bob Kaplan's class on Jewish life in New York on a recent morning sat immigrants from Colombia, Slovakia, South Korea and the Dominican Republic. As they discussed Jewish poverty on the Lower East Side, Jewish disapproval of interfaith marriage and the struggle to learn English, as depicted in Leo Rosten's novel "The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N," they were by inference learning about their own generation of new Americans.
"The kids see Jews as a successful immigrant group and are interested in what happened," Rabbi Kaplan said. "I always get asked, 'How did you guys do it?' "
More than pragmatism alone, though, has brought non-Jews into the classes, which range in content from theology to history to film and literature. Ardent Christians such as Jichan Kim, an immigrant from South Korea, and Jameelah Lewis, an African-American raised in Ohio, came seeking the Judaic roots of their faith and their savior. Kebba Jallow, an immigrant from Gambia, was motivated paradoxically by having heard so many anti-Jewish slurs in America.
"I had a weird curiosity because I'd accepted all those ideas - Jews are cheap, Jews are always whining about the Holocaust," he recalled. "I didn't have the knowledge to contest it. The classes redefined the stereotypes for me. They were just an eye-opener."
Sinia Randolph, a history major from Harlem, interviewed an aging survivor as part of her research for Professor Mittelman's class in the Holocaust. The experience changed her way of viewing the tragedies of Jews and African-Americans, which all too often have served as the basis of an invidious game of genocide one-upmanship.
"I know that a lot of time African-Americans think slavery was worst, and maybe deep down I did," she said. "I mean I knew of Hitler and the six million, but that was as far as it went. Coming into this class, I've realized that the suffering is the same. The same inhumanity. The same cruelty."
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
Monday, November 01, 2004
A Prayer for Voting (Non-Partisan)
הריני מוכן בהצבעתי
Here I am ready with my vote
Hareni muchan b’hatsbei`ati
לידרוש שלום בעד המדינה הזאת כמו שכתוב:
to seek peace for this country, as it's written:
lidrosh shalom ba`ad ham’dinah hazot, k’mo shekatuv
"ודרשו את שלום העיר אשר הגליתי אתכם שמה"
"And you will seek peace of the city where I exile you to"
v’dirshu et sh’lom ha`ir asher higleti etchem shama
"והתפללו בעדה אל ה כי בשלומה יהיה לכם שלום"
"and you will pray for her sake to YHVH, for through her peace you will have peace"
v’hitpal’lu ba`adah el YHVH ki bish’lomah yihyeh lakhem shalom
יהי רצון מלפניך שתהא חשובה כאלו קימתי הכתוב בכל עצמתו
May it be Your will that my vote will be accounted as if I fulfilled this verse in all its meaning,
y’hi ratson milfanekha shet’hei hatsbei`ati chashuvah k’ilu qiyamti hakatuv b’khol `atsmato
וכשם שהשתטפתי בבחירות היום
and just as I participated in elections today
uk’shem shehishtatfti b’v’chirut hayom
כן אזכה למעשים טובים ולתקון עולם בכל פועלי
so may I merit doing good deeds and fixing the world with all my actions
ken ezkeh/ezkah l’ma`aim tovim ul’tikun `olam b’khol po`alai
יהי טוב בעיניך ה אלהי ואלהי הורי
May it be good in Your eyes, YHVH my God and God of my ancestors,
y’hi tov b`einekha YHVH elohai v’elohey horai
שתתן לבב חכמה למי שאנו בוחרים היום
that you give a heart of wisdom to those whom we choose today
shetiten l’vav chokhmah lmi shanu bochrim hayom
ותן לנו ולכל העמים במדינה הזאת
and give to us and to all the peoples of this country
v’ten lanu ulkhol ha`amim bam’dinah hazot
הכח והרצון לרדוף צדק ולבקש שלום כאגודה אחת
the strength and will to pursue righteousness and to seek peace as one unity
hakoach v’haratson lirdof tsedek ul’vakesh shalom k’agudah achat
ותשא לנו ממשלה לטובה ולברכה
and may you raise up a government for us for the sake of good and blessing
v’tisa’ lanu memshelah l’tovah ulivrakhah
להצמיח בכל העולם חיים של טובה וחיים של שלום
to cause to grow throughout the world lives of goodness and peace
l’hatsmi’ach bkhol ha`olam chayyim shel tovah v’chayyim shel shalom
עלינו ועל כל עמך ישראל ועל כל יושבי תבל ועל ירושלים
for us and for all your people Israel and for all the inhabitants of the world, and for Jerusalem
`aleinu v`al kol amkha yisra’el v`al kol yoshvey teivel v`al y’rushalayim
"ויהי נועם ה אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו
ומעשה ידינו כוננהו"
"And may the pleasure of YHVH our God be on us, and may the One establish the work of our hands for us, may the work of our hands be established"
viy’hi no`am YHVH eloheynu `aleinu uma`aseh yadeinu kon’nah `aleinu, uma`aseh yadeinu kon’neihu
Thursday, October 28, 2004
A Letter from an angry Senior Citizen
I am a senior citizen.
During the Clinton Administration I had an extremely good and well paying job.
I took numerous vacations and had several vacation homes.
Since President Bush took office, I have watched my entire life change for the worse.
I lost my job.
I lost my two sons in that terrible Iraqi War.
I lost my homes.
I lost my health insurance.
As a matter of fact I lost virtually everything and became homeless.
Adding insult to injury, when the authorities found me living like an animal, instead of helping me, they arrested me.
I will do anything that Senator Kerry wants to insure that a Democrat is back in the White House come next year.
Bush has to go.
Sincerely,
Saddam Hussein
During the Clinton Administration I had an extremely good and well paying job.
I took numerous vacations and had several vacation homes.
Since President Bush took office, I have watched my entire life change for the worse.
I lost my job.
I lost my two sons in that terrible Iraqi War.
I lost my homes.
I lost my health insurance.
As a matter of fact I lost virtually everything and became homeless.
Adding insult to injury, when the authorities found me living like an animal, instead of helping me, they arrested me.
I will do anything that Senator Kerry wants to insure that a Democrat is back in the White House come next year.
Bush has to go.
Sincerely,
Saddam Hussein
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Students are healthier when they Pray!
A spiritually inclined student is a happier student
Study finds link between faith and mental health
by Sarah Hofius
USA Today
October 27, 2004
College students who participate in religious activities are more likely to have better emotional and mental health than students with no religious involvement, according to a national study of students at 46 wide-ranging colleges and universities.
In addition, students who don't participate in religious activities are more than twice as likely to report poor mental health or depression than students who attend religious services frequently.
Being religious or spiritual certainly seems to contribute to one's sense of psychological well-being, says Alexander Astin, co-principal investigator for the study of 3,680 third-year college students. The study was released this week by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California-Los Angeles.
Those who participate in religious activities also are less likely to feel overwhelmed during college.
Religious involvement includes such activities as reading the Bible or other sacred texts, attending religious services and joining religious organizations on campus.
These findings are important because psychological well-being declines during the college years, Astin says. One in five students has sought personal counseling since entering college, and 77% of college juniors report feeling depressed frequently or occasionally during the past year. Only 61% of the students were depressed frequently or occasionally when they first started college.
A high degree of spirituality correlates with high self-esteem and feeling good about the way life is headed. The study defines spirituality as desiring to integrate spirituality into one's life, believing that we are all spiritual beings, believing in the sacredness of life and having spiritual experiences.
“Students seem to feel better about themselves if they see themselves as spiritual,” Astin says.
“In these trying times, it's a positive feeling to correlate in people.”
But the study also finds that highly spiritual students are more prone to experiencing spiritual distress, or feeling unsettled about spiritual or religious matters, than students who aren't as spiritual.
Being religious also could play a role in whether someone starts to drink alcohol while in college. Three-fourths of students who don't drink beer before attending college won't start in college if involved in religious activity, the study says, but only 46% of students will continue to abstain if not involved religiously.
Astin says the next question to answer is whether students who are more religious and spiritual are more psychologically healthy or whether the more psychologically healthy students are seeking religious and spiritual activities.
The research also finds that 77% of college students pray, 78% discuss religion with friends, and 76% are “searching for meaning and purpose in life.”
Strongly religious students tend to describe themselves as politically conservative, but they hold more liberal views on issues such as gun control and the death penalty, the research finds.
The project is paid for by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
Study finds link between faith and mental health
by Sarah Hofius
USA Today
October 27, 2004
College students who participate in religious activities are more likely to have better emotional and mental health than students with no religious involvement, according to a national study of students at 46 wide-ranging colleges and universities.
In addition, students who don't participate in religious activities are more than twice as likely to report poor mental health or depression than students who attend religious services frequently.
Being religious or spiritual certainly seems to contribute to one's sense of psychological well-being, says Alexander Astin, co-principal investigator for the study of 3,680 third-year college students. The study was released this week by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California-Los Angeles.
Those who participate in religious activities also are less likely to feel overwhelmed during college.
Religious involvement includes such activities as reading the Bible or other sacred texts, attending religious services and joining religious organizations on campus.
These findings are important because psychological well-being declines during the college years, Astin says. One in five students has sought personal counseling since entering college, and 77% of college juniors report feeling depressed frequently or occasionally during the past year. Only 61% of the students were depressed frequently or occasionally when they first started college.
A high degree of spirituality correlates with high self-esteem and feeling good about the way life is headed. The study defines spirituality as desiring to integrate spirituality into one's life, believing that we are all spiritual beings, believing in the sacredness of life and having spiritual experiences.
“Students seem to feel better about themselves if they see themselves as spiritual,” Astin says.
“In these trying times, it's a positive feeling to correlate in people.”
But the study also finds that highly spiritual students are more prone to experiencing spiritual distress, or feeling unsettled about spiritual or religious matters, than students who aren't as spiritual.
Being religious also could play a role in whether someone starts to drink alcohol while in college. Three-fourths of students who don't drink beer before attending college won't start in college if involved in religious activity, the study says, but only 46% of students will continue to abstain if not involved religiously.
Astin says the next question to answer is whether students who are more religious and spiritual are more psychologically healthy or whether the more psychologically healthy students are seeking religious and spiritual activities.
The research also finds that 77% of college students pray, 78% discuss religion with friends, and 76% are “searching for meaning and purpose in life.”
Strongly religious students tend to describe themselves as politically conservative, but they hold more liberal views on issues such as gun control and the death penalty, the research finds.
The project is paid for by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
Monday, October 25, 2004
Bowman on Jon Stewart
The Daily Dodge
By JAMES BOWMAN
October 22, 2004; Page W13
Ah, satire! Or perhaps "satire." Either way -- with a single dose of irony or a double -- it's back. What the show "That Was the Week That Was" was to the Sixties, "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central is to the Aughties.
But there is a difference. The consumers of TV satire 40 years ago were assumed by the satirists to be pretty well-informed people already. Now there are indications that a lot of people, especially young people, are skipping the regular news and going straight to the satire.
According to a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press earlier this year, 21% of people aged 18-29 "regularly" got news about the election campaign from "The Daily Show" or the monologues of late-night comedians -- about the same number as watched network news shows or got news from the Internet.
If this is true, it could explain a lot about the way that Jon Stewart , "The Daily Show's" mock anchorman, chooses to handle his subject. He offers a combination of real stories from the "wacky" end of the news spectrum -- like the one about the Iraqi tourism minister whose job is to prevent tourists from coming to Iraq -- and mockery of mainstream news sources, especially the pomposity of the network anchors and correspondents. And of course it isn't just the media that are mocked: It is also conservatives, Republicans, the Religious Right and, most of all, President Bush and his administration.
Now he seems to be branching out into a sermonizing mode, if hypocritically. Last week he went on CNN's "Crossfire" to tell co-hosts Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala that they were "partisan hacks" who were "hurting America."
A serious charge, you might think. Certainly Mr. Carlson thought so. He might have made something of the muddled thinking that lay behind Mr. Stewart 's charge of partisanship -- against a show specifically set up to confront one partisan with another. But instead Mr. Carlson counterattacked, pointing to the softball questions that Mr. Stewart had asked John Kerry during the presidential candidate's appearance on "The Daily Show."
"I didn't realize -- and maybe this explains quite a bit," Mr. Stewart shot back, "that the news organizations look to Comedy Central for their cues on integrity." He went on to compare what "Crossfire" does to "theater" and "pro wrestling."
These comments led to more angry words, as each man insulted the other. But the anger generated by the exchange, and the insults that have continued since, only obscure what exactly was going on.
Mr. Stewart used his appearance on "Crossfire" to make a serious point, yet when it was taken up seriously he tried to retreat into his characteristic pose as a harmless comedian. "You are on CNN," he said to Mr. Carlson when accused of sucking up to Mr. Kerry; "the show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls."
So then we shouldn't pay any attention to him when he tries to be serious? I don't think he quite meant to say that, and yet he is saying it, in effect, all the time. Under the cover of humor, his show routinely makes vicious points about, say, the Iraq war. Are we meant to think of the puppets when we hear such "Daily Show" bits or when Mr. Stewart endorses Mr. Kerry for president?
It's a convenient double game. Mr. Stewart owes his success in no small measure to his irreverence toward the sanctimony with which the regular or "real" TV news conducts its business, yet there he is attacking one of the few news shows on television that has no room for the network "anchor" and his po-faced self-importance. Certainly Mr. Stewart 's criticism of "Crossfire" for its resemblance to pro-wrestling is odd coming from an avowed entertainer like himself. Could it be that he wants to corner the market in turning politics into entertainment?
Perhaps, but maybe it isn't satirical competitors that Mr. Stewart fears from "Crossfire" so much as the threat it poses to the pomposity of his satirical subjects. That, after all, is Mr. Stewart 's bread and butter. More than anyone since Stan Freberg, whose radio skits about American history were also popular in the 1960s, Mr. Stewart has made his media fortune out of deflating the dignity of America's politicians and statesmen, dead as well as alive.
Weighing in at No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list last week, for example, was his "America (The Book)" -- a mock civics textbook complete with an authentic-looking school-board stamp inside the front cover and a cover-line proclaiming: "With a Foreword by Thomas Jefferson."
Those familiar with the Stewart technique won't be surprised to learn that in this foreword the third president shows his familiarity with the language of the 21st-century streets and recounts the doubts of a certain "Sally" about his taking on such work: "You are the author of the Declaration of Independence. A scholar. A statesman. This is beneath you. It's not even network." Then he has "T.J." sign off with a postscript: "Oh, and is it true Halle Berry is once again single?"
If the only thing he knows about Jefferson besides his authorship of the Declaration is the allegation of his sexual liaison with his slave Sally Hemmings, it doesn't bother Jon Stewart -- or his audience. Just as you don't have to know the news to watch "The Daily Show," you don't have to know anything, really, about American history or government to enjoy "America (The Book)."
The mockery of "Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America" was affectionate and depended on the sort of knowledge about American history that could then have been taken for granted. Mr. Stewart sounds in his book as he does on his TV show -- not affectionate but arrogant, as if he were way too cool to bother finding out the facts of the real history, or news, that he's sending up. Who can take such stuff seriously?
Make no mistake: Mr. Stewart can be funny. His mock Larry King interview with Adolf Hitler in his earlier book, "Naked Pictures of Famous People" (1998), was hilarious, but it also made a serious point about how the media can be manipulated with the jargon of the therapeutic culture.
Lately when things have turned serious for a moment, Mr. Stewart has beaten a hasty retreat, as he did on "Crossfire." Comedy without an underlying moral seriousness is a species of nihilism, as fatiguing as the Olympian posturings of the network news. Someone should tell Jon Stewart that partisan hacks are what made this country great. But he probably doesn't care.
Mr. Bowman is a resident scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington.
By JAMES BOWMAN
October 22, 2004; Page W13
Ah, satire! Or perhaps "satire." Either way -- with a single dose of irony or a double -- it's back. What the show "That Was the Week That Was" was to the Sixties, "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central is to the Aughties.
But there is a difference. The consumers of TV satire 40 years ago were assumed by the satirists to be pretty well-informed people already. Now there are indications that a lot of people, especially young people, are skipping the regular news and going straight to the satire.
According to a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press earlier this year, 21% of people aged 18-29 "regularly" got news about the election campaign from "The Daily Show" or the monologues of late-night comedians -- about the same number as watched network news shows or got news from the Internet.
If this is true, it could explain a lot about the way that Jon Stewart , "The Daily Show's" mock anchorman, chooses to handle his subject. He offers a combination of real stories from the "wacky" end of the news spectrum -- like the one about the Iraqi tourism minister whose job is to prevent tourists from coming to Iraq -- and mockery of mainstream news sources, especially the pomposity of the network anchors and correspondents. And of course it isn't just the media that are mocked: It is also conservatives, Republicans, the Religious Right and, most of all, President Bush and his administration.
Now he seems to be branching out into a sermonizing mode, if hypocritically. Last week he went on CNN's "Crossfire" to tell co-hosts Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala that they were "partisan hacks" who were "hurting America."
A serious charge, you might think. Certainly Mr. Carlson thought so. He might have made something of the muddled thinking that lay behind Mr. Stewart 's charge of partisanship -- against a show specifically set up to confront one partisan with another. But instead Mr. Carlson counterattacked, pointing to the softball questions that Mr. Stewart had asked John Kerry during the presidential candidate's appearance on "The Daily Show."
"I didn't realize -- and maybe this explains quite a bit," Mr. Stewart shot back, "that the news organizations look to Comedy Central for their cues on integrity." He went on to compare what "Crossfire" does to "theater" and "pro wrestling."
These comments led to more angry words, as each man insulted the other. But the anger generated by the exchange, and the insults that have continued since, only obscure what exactly was going on.
Mr. Stewart used his appearance on "Crossfire" to make a serious point, yet when it was taken up seriously he tried to retreat into his characteristic pose as a harmless comedian. "You are on CNN," he said to Mr. Carlson when accused of sucking up to Mr. Kerry; "the show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls."
So then we shouldn't pay any attention to him when he tries to be serious? I don't think he quite meant to say that, and yet he is saying it, in effect, all the time. Under the cover of humor, his show routinely makes vicious points about, say, the Iraq war. Are we meant to think of the puppets when we hear such "Daily Show" bits or when Mr. Stewart endorses Mr. Kerry for president?
It's a convenient double game. Mr. Stewart owes his success in no small measure to his irreverence toward the sanctimony with which the regular or "real" TV news conducts its business, yet there he is attacking one of the few news shows on television that has no room for the network "anchor" and his po-faced self-importance. Certainly Mr. Stewart 's criticism of "Crossfire" for its resemblance to pro-wrestling is odd coming from an avowed entertainer like himself. Could it be that he wants to corner the market in turning politics into entertainment?
Perhaps, but maybe it isn't satirical competitors that Mr. Stewart fears from "Crossfire" so much as the threat it poses to the pomposity of his satirical subjects. That, after all, is Mr. Stewart 's bread and butter. More than anyone since Stan Freberg, whose radio skits about American history were also popular in the 1960s, Mr. Stewart has made his media fortune out of deflating the dignity of America's politicians and statesmen, dead as well as alive.
Weighing in at No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list last week, for example, was his "America (The Book)" -- a mock civics textbook complete with an authentic-looking school-board stamp inside the front cover and a cover-line proclaiming: "With a Foreword by Thomas Jefferson."
Those familiar with the Stewart technique won't be surprised to learn that in this foreword the third president shows his familiarity with the language of the 21st-century streets and recounts the doubts of a certain "Sally" about his taking on such work: "You are the author of the Declaration of Independence. A scholar. A statesman. This is beneath you. It's not even network." Then he has "T.J." sign off with a postscript: "Oh, and is it true Halle Berry is once again single?"
If the only thing he knows about Jefferson besides his authorship of the Declaration is the allegation of his sexual liaison with his slave Sally Hemmings, it doesn't bother Jon Stewart -- or his audience. Just as you don't have to know the news to watch "The Daily Show," you don't have to know anything, really, about American history or government to enjoy "America (The Book)."
The mockery of "Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America" was affectionate and depended on the sort of knowledge about American history that could then have been taken for granted. Mr. Stewart sounds in his book as he does on his TV show -- not affectionate but arrogant, as if he were way too cool to bother finding out the facts of the real history, or news, that he's sending up. Who can take such stuff seriously?
Make no mistake: Mr. Stewart can be funny. His mock Larry King interview with Adolf Hitler in his earlier book, "Naked Pictures of Famous People" (1998), was hilarious, but it also made a serious point about how the media can be manipulated with the jargon of the therapeutic culture.
Lately when things have turned serious for a moment, Mr. Stewart has beaten a hasty retreat, as he did on "Crossfire." Comedy without an underlying moral seriousness is a species of nihilism, as fatiguing as the Olympian posturings of the network news. Someone should tell Jon Stewart that partisan hacks are what made this country great. But he probably doesn't care.
Mr. Bowman is a resident scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Jon Stewart on Crossfire
Monday, October 18, 2004
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Equal Rights, Equal Access
We, the undersigned rabbis, applaud your recent decision to publish same-gender union ceremony announcements.
Gay and lesbian couples ought to have equal rights and equal access. It is not the responsibility of the Jewish News to make the news; it is the responsibility of the Jewish News to report the news.
Further, we oppose Proposal 2 on the November ballot. Proposal 2 is a bigoted, hateful attempt to permanently enshrine discrimination in the Michigan Constitution, forever making it illegal to provide domestic partnership benefits (including health insurance) for same-gender committed life partners and their children.
Justice demands that we use our voices of reason and charity and implores us to act vociferously against discrimination of any kind.
Rabbi Joshua Bennett
Rabbi Jonathan Berkun
Rabbi Lauren Berkun
Rabbi David Castiglione
Rabbi Ernst Conrad
Rabbi Robert Dobrusion
Rabbi Marla Hornsten
Rabbi Miriam S. Jerris
Rabbi Joseph Klein
Rabbi Joseph Krakoff
Rabbi Jennifer Kroll
Rabbi Robert Levy
Rabbi Harold Loss
Rabbi Jason Miller
Rabbi Michael Moskowitz
Rabbi David Nelson
Rabbi Daniel Nevins
Rabbi Norman Roman
Rabbi Dannel Schwartz
Rabbi Rachel Shere
Rabbi Arnie Sleutelberg
Rabbi Aaron Starr
Rabbi Daniel B. Syme
Rabbi Eric Yanoff
Rabbi Paul Yedwab
Gay and lesbian couples ought to have equal rights and equal access. It is not the responsibility of the Jewish News to make the news; it is the responsibility of the Jewish News to report the news.
Further, we oppose Proposal 2 on the November ballot. Proposal 2 is a bigoted, hateful attempt to permanently enshrine discrimination in the Michigan Constitution, forever making it illegal to provide domestic partnership benefits (including health insurance) for same-gender committed life partners and their children.
Justice demands that we use our voices of reason and charity and implores us to act vociferously against discrimination of any kind.
Rabbi Joshua Bennett
Rabbi Jonathan Berkun
Rabbi Lauren Berkun
Rabbi David Castiglione
Rabbi Ernst Conrad
Rabbi Robert Dobrusion
Rabbi Marla Hornsten
Rabbi Miriam S. Jerris
Rabbi Joseph Klein
Rabbi Joseph Krakoff
Rabbi Jennifer Kroll
Rabbi Robert Levy
Rabbi Harold Loss
Rabbi Jason Miller
Rabbi Michael Moskowitz
Rabbi David Nelson
Rabbi Daniel Nevins
Rabbi Norman Roman
Rabbi Dannel Schwartz
Rabbi Rachel Shere
Rabbi Arnie Sleutelberg
Rabbi Aaron Starr
Rabbi Daniel B. Syme
Rabbi Eric Yanoff
Rabbi Paul Yedwab
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Google goes Local
October 14, 2004
Google Introduces Search Program for Hard Drives
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) -- Google Inc. on Thursday became the first tech heavyweight to tackle the daunting task of uncluttering computers, introducing a program that quickly scours hard drives for documents, e-mails, instant messages and past Web searches.
With the free desktop program, Google hopes to build upon the popularity of its Internet-leading search engine and become even more indispensable to the millions of people who entrust the Mountain View-based company to find virtually anything online.
The new product, available at http://desktop.google.com, ups the ante in Google's intensifying battle with software giant Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc., which owns the world's second most popular search engine.
Google's desktop invasion heralds a momentous step into a crucial realm -- the challenge of managing the infoglut that has accumulated during the past decade as society becomes more tethered to increasingly powerful computers.
``We think of this (program) as the photographic memory of your computer,'' said Marissa Mayer, Google's director of consumer Web products. ``It's pretty comprehensive. If there's anything you once saw on your computer screen, we think you should be able to find it again quickly.''
Although its desktop program can be used exclusively offline to probe hard drives, Google designed it to run in a browser so it will meld with its online search engine. Google.com visitors who have the new program installed on their computer will see a ``desktop'' tab above the search engine toolbar and all their search results will include a section devoted to the hard drive in addition to the Web. [more...]
Google Introduces Search Program for Hard Drives
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) -- Google Inc. on Thursday became the first tech heavyweight to tackle the daunting task of uncluttering computers, introducing a program that quickly scours hard drives for documents, e-mails, instant messages and past Web searches.
With the free desktop program, Google hopes to build upon the popularity of its Internet-leading search engine and become even more indispensable to the millions of people who entrust the Mountain View-based company to find virtually anything online.
The new product, available at http://desktop.google.com, ups the ante in Google's intensifying battle with software giant Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc., which owns the world's second most popular search engine.
Google's desktop invasion heralds a momentous step into a crucial realm -- the challenge of managing the infoglut that has accumulated during the past decade as society becomes more tethered to increasingly powerful computers.
``We think of this (program) as the photographic memory of your computer,'' said Marissa Mayer, Google's director of consumer Web products. ``It's pretty comprehensive. If there's anything you once saw on your computer screen, we think you should be able to find it again quickly.''
Although its desktop program can be used exclusively offline to probe hard drives, Google designed it to run in a browser so it will meld with its online search engine. Google.com visitors who have the new program installed on their computer will see a ``desktop'' tab above the search engine toolbar and all their search results will include a section devoted to the hard drive in addition to the Web. [more...]
The NHL Season - well at least virtually
The Teams Play On!
At WhatIfSports.com, we don't believe in lockouts! We've got all the teams, all the players, and exciting NHL action all season long!
At WhatIfSports.com, we don't believe in lockouts! We've got all the teams, all the players, and exciting NHL action all season long!
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Tapper's Jewelry Coat Drive
Tapper's 13th Annual Coat Drive
October 1- October 31
Warm Hugs for the Winter
Help us keep others warm as the weather turns colder.
Tapper's 13th Annual Coat Drive
October 1st through 31st
Please join with us to make this year our most successful coat drive yet.
Donate a winter coat, new or worn, by October 31st.
Donations of $25 or more will be gratefully accepted and used to purchase warm children's coats, hats and mittens.
Both adult's and children's coats will be accepted.
Please make checks payable to Tapper's Winter Coat Drive.
The coats will be donated to:
Orchards Children's Services
Helps improve the quality of life for abused, neglected and troubled children through foster care, adoption, family preservation and other specialized programs. Click here to visit Orchards Children's Services website.
Baldwin Church Center
Provides a variety of services to those in need, including: Soup Kitchen, Clothing, Laundry Services, Breakfast Program, After School Programs, Tutoring, Focus and Hope
Grace Centers of Hope
The oldest and largest shelter in Oakland County. They provide services such as Soup Kitchen and full recovery and rehabilitation center for homeless men and women with their children. Click here to visit Grace Centers of Hope's website.
Coats may be dropped of at Tapper's Jewelry or at any of the following locations:
Hillel Day School, 32200 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills, 248-851-3220
Akiva Hebrew Day School, 21100 West 12 Mile Road, Southfield, 248-386-1625
Jewish Academy of Metropolitan Detroit, 6600 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield, 248-592-0022
Jewish Federation, 6375 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 248-642-4260
October 1- October 31
Warm Hugs for the Winter
Help us keep others warm as the weather turns colder.
Tapper's 13th Annual Coat Drive
October 1st through 31st
Please join with us to make this year our most successful coat drive yet.
Donate a winter coat, new or worn, by October 31st.
Donations of $25 or more will be gratefully accepted and used to purchase warm children's coats, hats and mittens.
Both adult's and children's coats will be accepted.
Please make checks payable to Tapper's Winter Coat Drive.
The coats will be donated to:
Orchards Children's Services
Helps improve the quality of life for abused, neglected and troubled children through foster care, adoption, family preservation and other specialized programs. Click here to visit Orchards Children's Services website.
Baldwin Church Center
Provides a variety of services to those in need, including: Soup Kitchen, Clothing, Laundry Services, Breakfast Program, After School Programs, Tutoring, Focus and Hope
Grace Centers of Hope
The oldest and largest shelter in Oakland County. They provide services such as Soup Kitchen and full recovery and rehabilitation center for homeless men and women with their children. Click here to visit Grace Centers of Hope's website.
Coats may be dropped of at Tapper's Jewelry or at any of the following locations:
Hillel Day School, 32200 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills, 248-851-3220
Akiva Hebrew Day School, 21100 West 12 Mile Road, Southfield, 248-386-1625
Jewish Academy of Metropolitan Detroit, 6600 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield, 248-592-0022
Jewish Federation, 6375 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 248-642-4260
50 First Dates
Quest For Love
by Molly Shaffer
A lonely American rabbi’s son is taking the concept of speed dating up a gear by going on 50 blind dates in 50 US states – all in just 50 days.
Dan Jacobs, from Santa Monica, is setting off on the ultimate romantic road trip next week to find a woman who’ll “give a nice sensitive short guy like me a chance”.
The 22-year-old’s voyage of discovery, which is being part-funded to the tune of $21,000 by friends and investors, will be filmed for a television documentary called A Sensitive Guy on the Road: 50 Dates In 50 States.
The roaming Romeo hopes his 50th and final date will see him reunited with his most successful first date.
Jacobs’ amorous adventure began a few months ago when a radio station in Idaho publicised his project.
His face was soon plastered on newspaper front pages nationwide and more than 400 responses from potential partners flooded in from across the US.
Jacobs has since narrowed down the applicants to a shortlist that includes Miss Teen Maine and a 39 year-old mother who rides a Harley Davidson.
Sensitive Jacobs, who pens poetry in his spare time, hopes to meet his perfect partner on his travels.
He told TJ: “I’m doing this as a social critique as well as for love. I realise that reality isn’t a fairytale but I would like to meet a culturally Jewish girl, as I feel very connected to my faith. Some people have criticised me and called me an egotist for attracting such attention, but I try not to worry about what people say.”
by Molly Shaffer
A lonely American rabbi’s son is taking the concept of speed dating up a gear by going on 50 blind dates in 50 US states – all in just 50 days.
Dan Jacobs, from Santa Monica, is setting off on the ultimate romantic road trip next week to find a woman who’ll “give a nice sensitive short guy like me a chance”.
The 22-year-old’s voyage of discovery, which is being part-funded to the tune of $21,000 by friends and investors, will be filmed for a television documentary called A Sensitive Guy on the Road: 50 Dates In 50 States.
The roaming Romeo hopes his 50th and final date will see him reunited with his most successful first date.
Jacobs’ amorous adventure began a few months ago when a radio station in Idaho publicised his project.
His face was soon plastered on newspaper front pages nationwide and more than 400 responses from potential partners flooded in from across the US.
Jacobs has since narrowed down the applicants to a shortlist that includes Miss Teen Maine and a 39 year-old mother who rides a Harley Davidson.
Sensitive Jacobs, who pens poetry in his spare time, hopes to meet his perfect partner on his travels.
He told TJ: “I’m doing this as a social critique as well as for love. I realise that reality isn’t a fairytale but I would like to meet a culturally Jewish girl, as I feel very connected to my faith. Some people have criticised me and called me an egotist for attracting such attention, but I try not to worry about what people say.”
It was a BALAGAN!!!
Michigan Students Celebrate Israeli Culture at First "Balagan!" Carnival
October 11, 2004
By Eve Lieberman
The American Movement for Israel, the University of Michigan's Israel advocacy group, drew thousands of interested students to its first annual "Balagan!" Carnival. The carnival highlighted many aspects of Israeli culture and society that are often overshadowed by regional conflict.
"'Balagan!' was an enormous success," Berman Fellow Samara Kaplan said. "Thousands of UM students passed through and saw tons of information focusing on the culture of Israel, such as its technology triumphs, study-in-Israel programs and food, rather than the conflict."
The colorful booths and wide range of activities held in the center of campus created the exact "balagan," or craziness, on campus the organizers had sought. The booths focused on everything from sports and entertainment to advancements in medicine and technology. Passers-by also had the chance to enjoy free massages and Israeli dancing and music. Hiller's Supermarket, a local store, treated hundreds of attendees to free samples of Israeli cookies, candy, hummous and pita.
Many of the booths featured travel and volunteer opportunities in Israel, including the Arava Institute Environmental Programs and Magen David Adom (Israeli Red Cross). Students also learned how to apply for birthright israel trips that Hillel organizes.
According to Adam Soclof, the coordinator of Balagan 2004 and cultural chair of American Movement for Israel, the festival helped students from diverse backgrounds learn about the richness of Israeli society.
"While the free food, free massages, and the moonwalks made for a great deal of fun, the information presented on programs and developments in Israel did a wonderful job of showing the university community that Israel isn't just some exclusively militaristic entity, as some of its detractors would have them believe," Soclof said. "'Balagan!' was a great way to begin conveying this message to the university community, and we are looking forward to more events that achieve the same goal throughout the year."
Eve Lieberman is a student at the University of Michigan
October 11, 2004
By Eve Lieberman
The American Movement for Israel, the University of Michigan's Israel advocacy group, drew thousands of interested students to its first annual "Balagan!" Carnival. The carnival highlighted many aspects of Israeli culture and society that are often overshadowed by regional conflict.
"'Balagan!' was an enormous success," Berman Fellow Samara Kaplan said. "Thousands of UM students passed through and saw tons of information focusing on the culture of Israel, such as its technology triumphs, study-in-Israel programs and food, rather than the conflict."
The colorful booths and wide range of activities held in the center of campus created the exact "balagan," or craziness, on campus the organizers had sought. The booths focused on everything from sports and entertainment to advancements in medicine and technology. Passers-by also had the chance to enjoy free massages and Israeli dancing and music. Hiller's Supermarket, a local store, treated hundreds of attendees to free samples of Israeli cookies, candy, hummous and pita.
Many of the booths featured travel and volunteer opportunities in Israel, including the Arava Institute Environmental Programs and Magen David Adom (Israeli Red Cross). Students also learned how to apply for birthright israel trips that Hillel organizes.
According to Adam Soclof, the coordinator of Balagan 2004 and cultural chair of American Movement for Israel, the festival helped students from diverse backgrounds learn about the richness of Israeli society.
"While the free food, free massages, and the moonwalks made for a great deal of fun, the information presented on programs and developments in Israel did a wonderful job of showing the university community that Israel isn't just some exclusively militaristic entity, as some of its detractors would have them believe," Soclof said. "'Balagan!' was a great way to begin conveying this message to the university community, and we are looking forward to more events that achieve the same goal throughout the year."
Eve Lieberman is a student at the University of Michigan
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Researchers warn against oral suction during circumcision
An ancient procedure that is part of ritual circumcisions, and which has been found to spread herpes and other dangerous illnesses is still used in Toronto, though infrequently.
Oral metzitzah, the practice in which a mohel sucks blood from an infant’s circumcised penis, has been supplanted by more hygienic and effective ways of cleaning the wound, said Dr. Aaron Jesin, a Toronto-based mohel. While metzitzah remains a required part of the circumcision ritual, most practitioners employ a glass tube to clean the wound, he said.
However, there are groups in Toronto today who continue to employ mohels who use oral metzitzah, said Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Lowy, a spokesman for the Orthodox Va’ad Harabonim in Toronto. “Those in the Torah world, the yeshiva world, use the procedure, unless there’s a problem,” he said.
Last month, a group of researchers in Canada and Israel published a report in the medical journal Pediatrics, which found eight babies who were infected with the herpes virus likely contracted their illnesses through oral metzitzah. Most of the infants were found in Israel but one, who was circumcised in 1994, was from Toronto. [more...]
Sunday, October 03, 2004
New Rabbi
Saturday, October 2, 2004
Who: Jason A. Miller
Where: Mandell L. Berman Center for University of Michigan Hillel
Started: Aug. 1, 2004
Age: 28
Residence: Ann Arbor
Education: Bachelor of Arts in international relations, James Madison College at Michigan State University (1998); Master of Arts in education, Jewish Theological Seminary, New York City (2004)
Job history: Rabbinic intern, Congregation Agudath Israel, Caldwell, N.J. (2002-2004); rabbi, Congregation Shaare Shalom, Leesburg, Va. (2003-04)
Family: Wife, Elissa; son, Joshua
Heroes: Joshua, the Israelite leader. "He was a phenomenal leader, able to rally the Israelites after the death of Moses."
Last books read: "Money Ball," by Michael Lewis; "Wrestling with God and Men," by Steven Greenberg
Of note: Reaching young Jews during their college years is crucial, said Miller. Students are connected to their synagogue in childhood, but after Bar or Bat Mitzvah and organized youth group activities, they sometimes drift away until it's time to register their own children at the synagogue.
Hillel location: 1429 Hill St., Ann Arbor
Phone: (734) 769-0500
Membership: Hillel estimates about 6,000 Jewish students at the U-M. "We're here for all of them," said Miller.
Average attendance: 80 to 125 students at each of three services (Orthodox, Conservative and Reform)
Worship services: Shabbat services each Friday (times vary; see Web site); Orthodox services Saturday, 9:30 a.m. (See Web site for other Hillel services.)
Special programs: The Annual Israel Conference; Conference on the Holocaust; The Golden Apple Award for teaching excellence
Hillel history: Founded in 1926
Web site: www.umhillel.org
Search committee: "We invited Jason to join our staff because he is a very bright, thoughtful and energetic young professional and a talented, senstive and well-educated rabbi," said Hillel Executive Director Michael Brooks.
Compiled by Catherine O'Donnell
© 2004 Ann Arbor News. Used with permission
Saturday, October 2, 2004
Who: Jason A. Miller
Where: Mandell L. Berman Center for University of Michigan Hillel
Started: Aug. 1, 2004
Age: 28
Residence: Ann Arbor
Education: Bachelor of Arts in international relations, James Madison College at Michigan State University (1998); Master of Arts in education, Jewish Theological Seminary, New York City (2004)
Job history: Rabbinic intern, Congregation Agudath Israel, Caldwell, N.J. (2002-2004); rabbi, Congregation Shaare Shalom, Leesburg, Va. (2003-04)
Family: Wife, Elissa; son, Joshua
Heroes: Joshua, the Israelite leader. "He was a phenomenal leader, able to rally the Israelites after the death of Moses."
Last books read: "Money Ball," by Michael Lewis; "Wrestling with God and Men," by Steven Greenberg
Of note: Reaching young Jews during their college years is crucial, said Miller. Students are connected to their synagogue in childhood, but after Bar or Bat Mitzvah and organized youth group activities, they sometimes drift away until it's time to register their own children at the synagogue.
Hillel location: 1429 Hill St., Ann Arbor
Phone: (734) 769-0500
Membership: Hillel estimates about 6,000 Jewish students at the U-M. "We're here for all of them," said Miller.
Average attendance: 80 to 125 students at each of three services (Orthodox, Conservative and Reform)
Worship services: Shabbat services each Friday (times vary; see Web site); Orthodox services Saturday, 9:30 a.m. (See Web site for other Hillel services.)
Special programs: The Annual Israel Conference; Conference on the Holocaust; The Golden Apple Award for teaching excellence
Hillel history: Founded in 1926
Web site: www.umhillel.org
Search committee: "We invited Jason to join our staff because he is a very bright, thoughtful and energetic young professional and a talented, senstive and well-educated rabbi," said Hillel Executive Director Michael Brooks.
Compiled by Catherine O'Donnell
© 2004 Ann Arbor News. Used with permission
Monday, September 27, 2004
Art is in the eye of the beholder (and the hand of the 4-year-old!)
This only proves what I once said at the Detroit Institute of Arts: "A Four-Year-Old could have painted that!"
NEW YORK TIMES
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl
By MICHELLE YORK
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - The hottest new abstract artist in town has reason to celebrate.
This summer, she went from selling her work in a coffee shop to having her own gallery show.
After a local newspaper's feature on her, about 2,000 people came for opening night - everyone from serious collectors to the artist's preschool teacher. She earned more money than she could comprehend. The gallery owner said it was his most successful show ever and scheduled a second one for October.
So celebrate, the artist did. During a recent visit, she climbed on a big bouncing ball shaped like a frog, grabbed the handles and bounced around the house with laughter pealing and pigtails flying.
The artist is Marla Olmstead. She is 4. [more...]
NEW YORK TIMES
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl
By MICHELLE YORK
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - The hottest new abstract artist in town has reason to celebrate.
This summer, she went from selling her work in a coffee shop to having her own gallery show.
After a local newspaper's feature on her, about 2,000 people came for opening night - everyone from serious collectors to the artist's preschool teacher. She earned more money than she could comprehend. The gallery owner said it was his most successful show ever and scheduled a second one for October.
So celebrate, the artist did. During a recent visit, she climbed on a big bouncing ball shaped like a frog, grabbed the handles and bounced around the house with laughter pealing and pigtails flying.
The artist is Marla Olmstead. She is 4. [more...]
Rabbi finds faith outside convention
This is an article about my classmate, colleague and friend Rabbi Susie Tendler. Susie is now the Assistant Rabbi at Beth David in Greensboro, NC.
By Nancy H. McLaughlin Staff Writer
News & Record
GREENSBORO -- The yarmulke question came up the second day of Rosh Hashana, when Rabbi Susie Tendler, newly arrived at Beth David Synagogue, was to stand before the congregation alongside the senior male rabbi.
In Jewish custom, a woman doesn't wear a head covering until she's married, and Tendler, 29, is single. On the other hand, virtually all rabbis wear head coverings during religious ceremonies. But most rabbis are men.
Would she or wouldn't she?
"I don't just not cover my head to not cover my head or to be rebellious," Tendler says. She found middle ground that day, wearing a fashionable knitted cap resembling a yarmulke.
Tendler is devout to her faith but less concerned about customs shaped for thousands of years by men.
"I'm attracted to the traditional ways (of Judaism), but I find unconventional ways of understanding them that are me," says the energetic and engaging young rabbi.
That mix -- traditional Jewish beliefs with a modern-day approach -- was what appealed to the Greensboro synagogue when they hired her as the first female rabbi for the congregation -- making her one of a few female rabbis in the state.
"She's a very conservative rabbi, but she is also very much herself, and being herself also includes being a young woman," says Bob Miller, president of the synagogue and a member of the search committee.
"She knows who she is, and I personally respect that."
Tendler, who has studied ancient Hebrew, recognizes the irony in her embrace of traditional Judaism and the fact that she is a woman.
"I had a college professor who was Muslim, who would comment that if a religion, or anything for that matter, ceases to be applicable to today or to fit into modern times, it ceases to be relevant," Tendler says.
She is evidence that you can be both, says her mentor, Rabbi Jack Moline of Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria, Va.
"Her visits to the margins of convention make her exquisitely qualified to speak to the hearts of people searching for their grounding in relationship to God and Jewish life," Moline says.
Tendler, who graduated rabbinical school in May, didn't have the experience of some other candidates for the position. But she had qualities that aren't measured on a resume.
"We needed a person who is engaging, who is forthright, who knows how to develop rapport -- and who does it instinctively," Miller says. "That is Susie Tendler."
Rabbi Eli Havivi, the senior religious leader at the synagogue, says he knew that the day he met her.
"She has a good spark -- of spirit, and of personality," Havivi says. "She is bright and engaging. She looks you in the eye, and she sees you, and then she speaks."
Sitting in front of a mural of Jerusaleum that's penciled onto the beige wall of her office -- which was battleship gray when she inherited it from her predecessor -- Tendler is busy searching the Web for information on an old-fashioned molasses farm for a youth field trip.
The life and rich color she hopes to bring to the mural, which an artist and several children in the congregation are helping her complete, gives unspoken insight into who she is, Havivi says.
"She loves Israel and has an ability to articulate what is in her heart," Havivi says. "She also has a good sense of art and beauty and the importance of religious education, and religion being not just intellectual, but physical and visual and experiential."
Her faith always was strong. In the small town of Woodbridge, Va., where she was the only Jewish child in her class and one of three in her school (counting her two brothers), she was excused from the elementary school chorus for months at a time because the Christmas songs practiced for the holidays were more than words to her.
"I wouldn't sing them because I couldn't proclaim that Jesus was God," Tendler says.
Unconventional influences in her faith formation started early.
Though a devout Jew, she knelt with her best friend for mass at the local Catholic church every week.
Only she never closed her eyes in prayer. She never took Communion.
Her friend, in turn, attended Friday night service at Tendler's synagogue.
"My parents always encouraged us to be open-minded and respectful and tolerant of other people, of knowing and experiencing," Tendler says.
The rabbi at her bat mitzvah was Judith Abrams, one of the first 100 female rabbis in the country.
Tendler attended the Alexander Muss High School in Israel right before the Persian Gulf War, when many American students were afraid to visit.
She was the first student to return to Alexander Muss as a teacher, and the other teachers became her mentors.
"Because I had so many different influences, I was able to find my own voice," Tendler says.
At Beth David, her job includes serving as director of religious education, which includes a cadre of programs and activities aimed at the range of parishioners, from kindergartners to older adults.
She's also responsible for religious services, from bar mitzvahs to weddings.
A primary focus is strengthening the religious school.
"It's very, very difficult," Miller says. "It's after secular school, and kids are tired. We compete with soccer and football and basketball, and you name it -- we compete with it.
"There has to be a principle attraction. There has to be reason for kids to come."
Activities such as a corn maze and the overnight "pizza in the hut" are part of the plan to get people more involved.
There's also a new 8 p.m. service on Fridays designed to attract college students and those who might want to eat dinner before service.
Tendler says she sees Judaism as a continuing spiritual journey and recalls reading the story of Noah last year in preparation for a big sermon.
"I read it in a way I had never read it before. … At first I was very excited that I was giving my sermon on Noah, because there's the rainbow and recreation and the covenant with God and the dove and the olive branch and nature.
"And I thought, 'Gosh this is beautiful,' and I read it, and all I saw were these evil things, not just the Tower of Babel, but the evil that pervaded the world and the way his children treated him right afterward.
"It taught me an important lesson about the lenses through which we see things.
"When I read it again a few weeks later, I found the rainbow and the dove and Noah being God's partner and creating the earth and all those beautiful concepts."
Her outlook has made many people, including Abrams, the female rabbi and successful author, proud of her and what she's doing with her life.
"Sometimes people get into the clergy for the wrong reasons," says Abrams, one of Tendler's early role models. "She's in it for the love. Not just the love of God, but the love of people. That's what you want."
Contact Nancy H. McLaughlin at 373-7049 or nmclaughlin@news-record.com
By Nancy H. McLaughlin Staff Writer
News & Record
GREENSBORO -- The yarmulke question came up the second day of Rosh Hashana, when Rabbi Susie Tendler, newly arrived at Beth David Synagogue, was to stand before the congregation alongside the senior male rabbi.
In Jewish custom, a woman doesn't wear a head covering until she's married, and Tendler, 29, is single. On the other hand, virtually all rabbis wear head coverings during religious ceremonies. But most rabbis are men.
Would she or wouldn't she?
"I don't just not cover my head to not cover my head or to be rebellious," Tendler says. She found middle ground that day, wearing a fashionable knitted cap resembling a yarmulke.
Tendler is devout to her faith but less concerned about customs shaped for thousands of years by men.
"I'm attracted to the traditional ways (of Judaism), but I find unconventional ways of understanding them that are me," says the energetic and engaging young rabbi.
That mix -- traditional Jewish beliefs with a modern-day approach -- was what appealed to the Greensboro synagogue when they hired her as the first female rabbi for the congregation -- making her one of a few female rabbis in the state.
"She's a very conservative rabbi, but she is also very much herself, and being herself also includes being a young woman," says Bob Miller, president of the synagogue and a member of the search committee.
"She knows who she is, and I personally respect that."
Tendler, who has studied ancient Hebrew, recognizes the irony in her embrace of traditional Judaism and the fact that she is a woman.
"I had a college professor who was Muslim, who would comment that if a religion, or anything for that matter, ceases to be applicable to today or to fit into modern times, it ceases to be relevant," Tendler says.
She is evidence that you can be both, says her mentor, Rabbi Jack Moline of Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria, Va.
"Her visits to the margins of convention make her exquisitely qualified to speak to the hearts of people searching for their grounding in relationship to God and Jewish life," Moline says.
Tendler, who graduated rabbinical school in May, didn't have the experience of some other candidates for the position. But she had qualities that aren't measured on a resume.
"We needed a person who is engaging, who is forthright, who knows how to develop rapport -- and who does it instinctively," Miller says. "That is Susie Tendler."
Rabbi Eli Havivi, the senior religious leader at the synagogue, says he knew that the day he met her.
"She has a good spark -- of spirit, and of personality," Havivi says. "She is bright and engaging. She looks you in the eye, and she sees you, and then she speaks."
Sitting in front of a mural of Jerusaleum that's penciled onto the beige wall of her office -- which was battleship gray when she inherited it from her predecessor -- Tendler is busy searching the Web for information on an old-fashioned molasses farm for a youth field trip.
The life and rich color she hopes to bring to the mural, which an artist and several children in the congregation are helping her complete, gives unspoken insight into who she is, Havivi says.
"She loves Israel and has an ability to articulate what is in her heart," Havivi says. "She also has a good sense of art and beauty and the importance of religious education, and religion being not just intellectual, but physical and visual and experiential."
Her faith always was strong. In the small town of Woodbridge, Va., where she was the only Jewish child in her class and one of three in her school (counting her two brothers), she was excused from the elementary school chorus for months at a time because the Christmas songs practiced for the holidays were more than words to her.
"I wouldn't sing them because I couldn't proclaim that Jesus was God," Tendler says.
Unconventional influences in her faith formation started early.
Though a devout Jew, she knelt with her best friend for mass at the local Catholic church every week.
Only she never closed her eyes in prayer. She never took Communion.
Her friend, in turn, attended Friday night service at Tendler's synagogue.
"My parents always encouraged us to be open-minded and respectful and tolerant of other people, of knowing and experiencing," Tendler says.
The rabbi at her bat mitzvah was Judith Abrams, one of the first 100 female rabbis in the country.
Tendler attended the Alexander Muss High School in Israel right before the Persian Gulf War, when many American students were afraid to visit.
She was the first student to return to Alexander Muss as a teacher, and the other teachers became her mentors.
"Because I had so many different influences, I was able to find my own voice," Tendler says.
At Beth David, her job includes serving as director of religious education, which includes a cadre of programs and activities aimed at the range of parishioners, from kindergartners to older adults.
She's also responsible for religious services, from bar mitzvahs to weddings.
A primary focus is strengthening the religious school.
"It's very, very difficult," Miller says. "It's after secular school, and kids are tired. We compete with soccer and football and basketball, and you name it -- we compete with it.
"There has to be a principle attraction. There has to be reason for kids to come."
Activities such as a corn maze and the overnight "pizza in the hut" are part of the plan to get people more involved.
There's also a new 8 p.m. service on Fridays designed to attract college students and those who might want to eat dinner before service.
Tendler says she sees Judaism as a continuing spiritual journey and recalls reading the story of Noah last year in preparation for a big sermon.
"I read it in a way I had never read it before. … At first I was very excited that I was giving my sermon on Noah, because there's the rainbow and recreation and the covenant with God and the dove and the olive branch and nature.
"And I thought, 'Gosh this is beautiful,' and I read it, and all I saw were these evil things, not just the Tower of Babel, but the evil that pervaded the world and the way his children treated him right afterward.
"It taught me an important lesson about the lenses through which we see things.
"When I read it again a few weeks later, I found the rainbow and the dove and Noah being God's partner and creating the earth and all those beautiful concepts."
Her outlook has made many people, including Abrams, the female rabbi and successful author, proud of her and what she's doing with her life.
"Sometimes people get into the clergy for the wrong reasons," says Abrams, one of Tendler's early role models. "She's in it for the love. Not just the love of God, but the love of people. That's what you want."
Contact Nancy H. McLaughlin at 373-7049 or nmclaughlin@news-record.com
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Jews should shun the Kabbalah Centre and those who promote it
From the LA Times
Madonna and the Kabbalah Cult
By Yossi Klein Halevi
JERUSALEM — Madonna's visit to Israel last week, as part of a High Holidays pilgrimage organized by the Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Centre, was greeted here with an enthusiasm deeper than mere excitement at the presence of a pop superstar.
Israelis were understandably grateful to her for showing solidarity with their besieged country and for defying the fear of terrorism that has kept so many tourists away. Her very presence reminded Israelis that they still had friends around the world.
However reassuring, Madonna's embrace should be treated by Jews warily. The source of her Jewish connection, the Kabbalah Centre, has been repudiated by the mainstream Jewish community for its alleged cult-like behavior. Accusations against the Centre (the pompous spelling is theirs) include exploiting volunteers, breaking up marriages when one partner opposes involvement in the group, and even instructing one terminally ill L.A. man to cure himself by filling his swimming pool with water "blessed" by the Centre's leaders. (In fact, the Kabbalah Cafe in the Centre's L.A. headquarters has a sign that reassures patrons that all coffee and tea sold there is made with this water.)
The mainstream Jewish community is so wary of the Centre — which claims to have influenced about 3 million people, including Mick Jagger and Britney Spears — that the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles has excluded it from a listing of local Jewish organizations.But no less disturbing for religious Jews than the Centre's alleged abuses is its doctrinal distortion of cabala, the ancient mystical tradition revered as the inner sanctum of Judaic devotion and thought. [more...]
Madonna and the Kabbalah Cult
By Yossi Klein Halevi
JERUSALEM — Madonna's visit to Israel last week, as part of a High Holidays pilgrimage organized by the Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Centre, was greeted here with an enthusiasm deeper than mere excitement at the presence of a pop superstar.
Israelis were understandably grateful to her for showing solidarity with their besieged country and for defying the fear of terrorism that has kept so many tourists away. Her very presence reminded Israelis that they still had friends around the world.
However reassuring, Madonna's embrace should be treated by Jews warily. The source of her Jewish connection, the Kabbalah Centre, has been repudiated by the mainstream Jewish community for its alleged cult-like behavior. Accusations against the Centre (the pompous spelling is theirs) include exploiting volunteers, breaking up marriages when one partner opposes involvement in the group, and even instructing one terminally ill L.A. man to cure himself by filling his swimming pool with water "blessed" by the Centre's leaders. (In fact, the Kabbalah Cafe in the Centre's L.A. headquarters has a sign that reassures patrons that all coffee and tea sold there is made with this water.)
The mainstream Jewish community is so wary of the Centre — which claims to have influenced about 3 million people, including Mick Jagger and Britney Spears — that the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles has excluded it from a listing of local Jewish organizations.But no less disturbing for religious Jews than the Centre's alleged abuses is its doctrinal distortion of cabala, the ancient mystical tradition revered as the inner sanctum of Judaic devotion and thought. [more...]
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Still More Press about Torah From Terror
Torah from Terror: Sermons from September 11, 2001
By MARK MIETKIEWICZ
Cleveland Jewish News
The 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center have inspired of High Holiday sermons, now preserved on www.torahfromterror.com.
In 2001, September 11 occurred less than one week before Rosh Hashana (as it does again this year.) Rabbis dispensed with the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur sermons they had prepared and wrote new ones to help their congregations grapple with the horrors they had just witnessed. Theirs were words of grief, anger and consolation.
Thanks to the efforts of two men, we can still learn from those words today. Rabbi Neil Gillman, a professor of Jewish philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and Jason Miller in the rabbinical school at JTS, have preserved over 100 sermons on the Web site, Torah from Terror: The Rabbinic Response to 9/11. Reading through these sermons is a sobering experience. Three years ago, we vowed that things would never again be the same. For most people, life has returned to its familiar rhythms. Not so in this Web site where you feel the raw emotions and hear the questions which had so few answers. Some excerpts from Torah from Terror:
Rabbi David B. Cohen, Congregation Sinai, Milwaukee, Wisconsin: When the children of Israel defeated the Canaanites, Deborah composed a song to bless God and the Jewish people. Near the song's end, Deborah spoke of the mother of Sisera, the murdered Canaanite general. The Midrash states that the mother of Sisera cried, screamed, and moaned one hundred times while waiting for her son to come back from battle. According to the Bible, the shofar is sounded only nine times on Rosh Hashana. The rabbis of the Talmud expand the number to 30 times.Yet for 2,000 years, the tradition has been to sound the Shofar 100 times on Rosh Hashana. Whence the number one hundred? Every Shofar blast, we are told, corresponds to one of the 100 anguished cries and moans of Sisera's mother.If the Bible bewails the death of one of Israel's enemies, how much more might we cry out for friends and neighbors we've lost this past week? How many agonies will our hearts have to bear?
Rabbi Wayne Dosick, The Elijah Minyan, San Diego, California: My holy father used to tell the story of Yom Kippur, 1942, the first Yom Kippur after Pearl Harbor, the first Yom Kippur that America was at war in World War II. In the small Orthodox shul which he attended, the men sat downstairs, and the women sat upstairs in the balcony.As the chazzan chanted the Kol Nidre prayer, when he came to the words, M'Yom Kippurim zeh ad Yom Kippurim habah, alenu l'tova ... " From this Yom Kippur until next Yom Kippur, may it be for us for good ...," a great cry arose from the balcony and washed across the whole shul. The wives and mothers had just sent their husbands and sons to war, and they greatly feared what would happen from one Yom Kippur until the next.Then and now, the days that unfold, one by one, from one Yom Kippur until the next, tell the tale of our lives. And the great question always looms, "Who shall live, and who die? Who shall live out the measure of days, and who will be cut off mid-way?"The answers to those questions, we know, are in God's hands. Yet, this year, as we gather for our Yom Kippur worship and meditation, we are filled with wondering. For the Divine response that was given to us this year is bewildering, and overwhelming, and filled with pain.
Torah from Terror: The Rabbinic Response to 9/11 contains 138 sermons from rabbis in 25 states and three provinces. If you have access to a sermon delivered following September 11, 2001, the Web site's creators would like to hear from you.
Mark Mietkiewicz is a Toronto-based Internet producer who writes, lectures and teaches about the Jewish Internet. He can be reached at highway@rogers.com.
By MARK MIETKIEWICZ
Cleveland Jewish News
The 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center have inspired of High Holiday sermons, now preserved on www.torahfromterror.com.
In 2001, September 11 occurred less than one week before Rosh Hashana (as it does again this year.) Rabbis dispensed with the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur sermons they had prepared and wrote new ones to help their congregations grapple with the horrors they had just witnessed. Theirs were words of grief, anger and consolation.
Thanks to the efforts of two men, we can still learn from those words today. Rabbi Neil Gillman, a professor of Jewish philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and Jason Miller in the rabbinical school at JTS, have preserved over 100 sermons on the Web site, Torah from Terror: The Rabbinic Response to 9/11. Reading through these sermons is a sobering experience. Three years ago, we vowed that things would never again be the same. For most people, life has returned to its familiar rhythms. Not so in this Web site where you feel the raw emotions and hear the questions which had so few answers. Some excerpts from Torah from Terror:
Rabbi David B. Cohen, Congregation Sinai, Milwaukee, Wisconsin: When the children of Israel defeated the Canaanites, Deborah composed a song to bless God and the Jewish people. Near the song's end, Deborah spoke of the mother of Sisera, the murdered Canaanite general. The Midrash states that the mother of Sisera cried, screamed, and moaned one hundred times while waiting for her son to come back from battle. According to the Bible, the shofar is sounded only nine times on Rosh Hashana. The rabbis of the Talmud expand the number to 30 times.Yet for 2,000 years, the tradition has been to sound the Shofar 100 times on Rosh Hashana. Whence the number one hundred? Every Shofar blast, we are told, corresponds to one of the 100 anguished cries and moans of Sisera's mother.If the Bible bewails the death of one of Israel's enemies, how much more might we cry out for friends and neighbors we've lost this past week? How many agonies will our hearts have to bear?
Rabbi Wayne Dosick, The Elijah Minyan, San Diego, California: My holy father used to tell the story of Yom Kippur, 1942, the first Yom Kippur after Pearl Harbor, the first Yom Kippur that America was at war in World War II. In the small Orthodox shul which he attended, the men sat downstairs, and the women sat upstairs in the balcony.As the chazzan chanted the Kol Nidre prayer, when he came to the words, M'Yom Kippurim zeh ad Yom Kippurim habah, alenu l'tova ... " From this Yom Kippur until next Yom Kippur, may it be for us for good ...," a great cry arose from the balcony and washed across the whole shul. The wives and mothers had just sent their husbands and sons to war, and they greatly feared what would happen from one Yom Kippur until the next.Then and now, the days that unfold, one by one, from one Yom Kippur until the next, tell the tale of our lives. And the great question always looms, "Who shall live, and who die? Who shall live out the measure of days, and who will be cut off mid-way?"The answers to those questions, we know, are in God's hands. Yet, this year, as we gather for our Yom Kippur worship and meditation, we are filled with wondering. For the Divine response that was given to us this year is bewildering, and overwhelming, and filled with pain.
Torah from Terror: The Rabbinic Response to 9/11 contains 138 sermons from rabbis in 25 states and three provinces. If you have access to a sermon delivered following September 11, 2001, the Web site's creators would like to hear from you.
Mark Mietkiewicz is a Toronto-based Internet producer who writes, lectures and teaches about the Jewish Internet. He can be reached at highway@rogers.com.
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